Clash of the Elements Part 4: The Ocarina of Time
by mewmaster93
Summary: The first story in the "Travel of the Overlord" arc of Clash of the Elements, which sees our protagonist venturing to the land of Hyrule...Only to find that it has been conquered by the mighty Ganondorf, and it appears as though the one destined to stop him has been gone from this world for 7 years. Can Ganondorf be stopped? And just where is this so-called Hero of Time? Find out.
1. Chapter 1

_Thousands upon thousands of year, there existed a barren wasteland that spread out across the entire planet and prevented nearly any living beings from surviving around it. This world knew nothing of water, of grass, or even the livid sensation of the winds themselves…It was a bountiful roaming grounds for demons both big and small, and the longer this world kept itself in the midst of chaos, the more worried the three goddesses that were sent to watch over this world became. It was all an inevitability though, that from these concerns would an action be made to bring peace to this world. The goddesses, in an act of defiance against the chaos, descended onto the mortal world and split themselves up across the surface of the planet in order to carry out their respective callings…_

_With arms of consecrated fire, the goddess Din cultivated the land and created the red earth. Using only a single breath, the blue goddess Nayru spread her wisdom across the planet that had been given life by her sister, and it was by the will of her spirit that chaos was given an unconquerable foe in the form of order itself. As her sisters prepared the planet for inhabitability, the final goddess, the serene and curious Farore, gathered energy from her enriched soul and gave birth to all life forms that would carry out and uphold the order established by Nayru. Because of their efforts, the desolate planet had been transformed into a prosperous landscape that to this day is known by the name of Hyrule._

_As the three goddesses departed their newly created world to places unknown, they entrusted one final gift to the beings they created. It was an all-powerful relic that went by the name of the Triforce, and each of its parts represented a different passion of the goddesses. Power for Din, Wisdom for Nayru, and Courage for Farore. Brought together and mastered by one of strong will, the Triforce was said to have the power to grant someone their deepest desire…But unforeseen by the goddesses' design, the Triforce was neutral in its judgment, and would grant the desire of the person who controlled it whether they were good or evil. The demons whose chaotic world had been robbed from them along with their mighty lord whose name has nearly been wiped from the slates of history, sought the Triforce to regain what was rightfully theirs._

_The first of many wars was fought not long after Hyrule's creation between the demons and Hylia, the Goddess of Grace that was born into this world to protect the Triforce from evil. Hylia was not alone in this conflict though, for the five races of the surface world joined her and fought back the demons. It is unknown just how the conflict was ended beyond the fact that Hylia proved victorious against the demon lord, and that the Triforce had vanished for quite some time afterwards. Many generations later, the kingdom of Hyrule was established in honor of the brave goddess Hylia. The Triforce, which had been found by an unknown force, was kept sealed away inside of the Sacred Realm, guarded from evil by the Sage of Light, Rauru._

_For hundreds upon hundreds of years, Hyrule enjoyed an everlasting prosperity, as peace between the five races and the great Kingdom itself was never once shaken…Until one fateful day, when an uprising led to a war between the Hylians and the five races, the cause of which has never been determined to this day. It was during the early days of this war that two important figures were born. One was the heir of the Hylian throne, Princess Zelda, whose name had been passed down from her ancestors to continue a tradition established by the first Queen of Hyrule. The second child born during this time of bloodshed was a small boy by the name of Link, whose mother eventually perished after escaping the fires that began to engulf Hyrule…But not before she brought her child to the lap of the sacred Great Deku Tree._

_Eventually, the war came to an end with the King of Hyrule unifying everyone under his banner. One of the leaders on the enemy side, a Gerudo by the name of Ganondorf, swore fealty to the King once more. These three beings, as different as they all were, were already entangled in the web of fate that only the goddesses of Hyrule and the Sage of Light Rauru knew of. Years began to pass in the once again peaceful land of Hyrule, and the two children born in the war were raised in differing ways. Zelda was raised as a Princess under the tender, watchful eye of her Sheikah attendant, Impa, while Link was raised unsuspectingly as a Kokiri by the Great Deku Tree. The pale, sand skinned man named Ganondorf, however, merely bided his time as a subservient representative of his people until the moment would come when he would obtain what he desired…The Triforce._

_Eventually though, Ganondorf grew tired of waiting. He couldn't gain the trust of the Great Deku Tree, nor did he have any luck with the Goron and Zora tribes when it came to acquiring the Spiritual Stones needed to open the way to the Sacred Realm. So with his cunning and proficiency in dark magic, the Gerudo set forth events that slipped past the eyes of the King of Hyrule as he performed them meticulously. He upset the Zora's patron deity Lord Gabu Gabu, robbed the Gorons of their source of food, and sent the mighty Gohma to kill the Great Deku Tree from within. The last of his actions caused the Great Deku Tree to realize that something had to be done about Ganondorf before it was too late, and with the assistance of his trusted aide Navi the mighty tree called forth Link to his side._

_With his unmatched bravery and surprisingly adept swordplay, Link went into the depths of the Great Deku Tree and slew Gohma. However, it was far too late for the Great Deku Tree, and with his dying breath he granted Link the Kokiri Emerald and told him the truth about his life along with the darkness that was slowly approaching this land. Tasking Link with heading out to Hyrule in order to stop the "man in black", the Great Deku Tree became grey and lifeless. Having lost the man who had been his father for his whole life up until this point, Link vowed to go to Hyrule and make sure that no one else would be harmed by the mysterious man's misdeeds. And travel to Hyrule Link did, his journey guided by the fairy Navi and the holy owl Kaepora Gaebora, who unbeknownst to Link was actually the Sage of Light Rauru himself…_

_Eventually making his way into the castle, Link found Princess Zelda standing alone in the courtyard, and to his surprise the Princess spoke to him with recognition because of a dream she once had, the genuineness of which was confirmed when Link showed her the Kokiri Emerald. Explaining her suspicions towards Ganondorf, Zelda asks Link to help her grab the other two Spiritual Stones and open the way to the Sacred Realm so they can use the Triforce to stop Ganondorf. Agreeing to her cause, Link set out across Hyrule to undo the evil that Ganondorf created, gaining the trust and brotherhood of the leader of Gorons Darunia and accidentally agreeing to marriage with the lovely Zora Princess Ruto, in the process gaining both Spiritual Stones…_

_However, chaos engulfed Hyrule Castle as Link began to return from Zora's Domain. Ganondorf, knowing that the "Hero of Time" was returning, killed the King of Hyrule and pursued Zelda in order to acquire the Ocarina of Time that was necessary to use in conjunction with the Spiritual Stones in order to gain access to the Sacred Realm inside of the Temple of Time. There are very few records beyond this point that explain what went down that fateful day, but the end result will be forever noted as one of the greatest tragedies in Hylian history…Princess Zelda and Impa disappeared, the King was dead, Link was nowhere to be found, and Ganondorf somehow managed to make his way into the Sacred Realm and obtain the "Power" segment of the Triforce, which became permanently grafted to his right hand._

_With no one alive to stop him, Ganondorf usurped the Hylians from their reign over the land and slaughtered the countless knights who dared to oppose him, his display of raw power ending with the total obliteration of Hyrule Castle along with most of the ground surrounding it, which collapsed into a vast pit of molten magma that Ganondorf created with the help of his dark magic. With the help of his two most loyal servants, Kotake and Koume, the empowered Gerudo King crafted a massive, shadowy architecture that would loom over his new land and remind all others that his reign was supreme forevermore. This unholy, monochrome abomination floated above the magma pit on a lone island in the center of the air where the prosperous Hyrule Castle once stood, and from the highest point in the tower Ganondorf stared down and laughed as he surveyed the land and thought out his next move…_

_With plenty of time in the world to do whatever he pleased, Ganondorf first chose to give the abandoned Hyrule Castle Town to his loyal army of ReDeads, their presence turning the place into a nightmarish graveyard that no one would ever dare to traverse unless he wanted them to. His next plan was to bring torment back to the tribes who defied him in the past. He froze the entirety of Zora's Domain, killing Lord Gabu Gabu and causing Lake Hyrule to be drained of all its water. He created the mighty Volvagia, a dragon of pure fire that whose mere presence in Death Mountain caused of ring of burning smog to circle around the tip of the volcano's cone, and with this dragon he made certain to have any defiant Gorons devoured or captured. Finally, he set forth monsters to populate Kokiri Village and the Lost Woods, making the poor Kokiri's punishment the most lenient of the three simply because the children of the forest did little to defy him before._

_Though Ganondorf saw his rule as absolute, there was still two seeds of rebellion left unaccounted for. Having escaped his sight so very long ago, the Gerudo King continued day and night to listen to his operatives give him news about the lack of info on Princess Zelda and Impa's whereabouts. After all, the man only had one piece of the Triforce, not the whole relic like he had originally intended to obtain. In his mind, Ganondorf had every right to assume that the segment of Wisdom was given to Zelda, while the one representing Courage was given to her attendant. For as far as he had come to obtain the Triforce, Ganondorf was willing to wait even longer if it meant that he would get the full relic and be granted his deepest desire. And wait he did, for seven long years…_

On the top floor of the tiered structure that goes by the name of Ganon's Castle, the mighty Gerudo King sits before his gigantic organ, his hands gliding across the keys to play a very foreboding tune that befits his villainous cathedral. He sits patiently, waiting for the time when his surrogate mothers Kotake and Koume will return with hopefully good news about Princess Zelda's whereabouts. Behind him, one of his stained glass windows becomes filled with otherworldly magic that causes it to be briefly transformed into a gate through which two witches can fly back into the castle on their rigid brooms without breaking the glass itself. With a snap of their fingers, the portal closes and they stop themselves above the very center of the room.

Ganondorf, recognizing the noise created by their specifically wrinkled fingers clicking together, pushes his hands against the keys laid directly in front of him, filling the room with a prolonged, resounding note until he drags his silver gauntlet protected palm away from the organ. In the preceding years, the mighty Gerudo King had changed his appearance in order to fit his new role as the supreme ruler of Hyrule. Alongside the gauntlet, his armor had been made more regal with the golden engravings of his people littered across the shoulder pads and chest. His hair had grown out from the back until it reached the top of his crimson cape, and his ears had been pierced with the sandy ceremonial earrings created by the two witches that currently floated behind him.

"What news do you bring me, Koume and Kotake?" Ganondorf speaks respectably in a deep, rather sophisticated voice towards the two witches as he raises himself up from his seat and slowly turns his body to face them. Both stout old ladies, with their green winkled skin and black Gerudo robes that are held to their bodies by an obi-like belt around their waists, have one major distinction between them. The one named Kotake can be identified by her crystalline, frosty hair while her sister Koume can be identified by her the long, fiery plume attached to her scalp. The hot-headed one inches forward cautiously on her broom and says to her lord "Lord Ganondorf, there is still no sign of the Princess anywhere, and-"

Koume wished to defy her master's wishes just for one moment and tell him that this search was truly futile after nearly seven years of trying, but as she said just one word beyond the news that Ganondorf wanted to hear the King of Evil raised his left eyebrow a millimeter and expected silence from the fiery witch in regards to that specific matter. Biting her lips together to stop herself prematurely, Koume left the other news in the capable hands of her icy sister. Ganondorf's expression stiffened back to normal as his lips curled into a tranquil smile, and with a swing of his right arm he pushed his cape out in front of himself and turned around to face his organ once more. "It matters not, she has nowhere to run in my Hyrule…Wherever she is, she will eventually slip up and reveal herself to me." Ganondorf raises his right hand up in front of his face and tightens it into the shape of a fist so he can relish the glow of the Triforce of Power on the backside of his gauntlet.

With an admiring glare towards the Triforce's holy light despite being a man of the dark arts, Ganondorf continues to stand in place as he senses a reason as to why his two surrogate mothers were still in the immediate area, and with a glance to the right he asks them "And what other news do you bring me, Koume and Kotake?" Having been given permission to speak, Kotake raised her suddenly and said nervously to her Lord "S-Someone has been spotted wandering dangerously close to the Forest Temple…We haven't identified who it is quite yet, but we have confirmation of Moblin causalities and…" "And so you reported back to me instead of taking care of this problem yourself?" Ganondorf finishes her sentence in a way that satisfied himself, but despite how callous it sounded to Kotake the truth of the matter was that the King of Evil didn't change his tone in the slightest.

"Y-Y-Yes, my Lord…" The ice witch stammered out in fear. "Hmm…" Ganondorf unraveled his fist after staring at it for a few more seconds, and as the visage of his piece of the Triforce faded away unceremoniously the King of Evil turned back around and said with intrigue "I'm actually quite glad you chose to do that. I haven't had any infidels attempt to defy me for far too long…So long in fact that I was beginning to think that my piece of the Triforce would just go to waste…" With a callous raise of his right hand, Ganondorf drew upon the power of the Triforce of Power to being working in conjunction with his dark magic. His body became surrounded in a thin shadowy aura, and with a push forward of his fingers the aura begins to split away from the rest of his body and solidify into the form of an otherworldly spirit that mirrors the King of Evil's appearance save for a skull-ish mask on his face and two dagger-like horns sticking out from the top of it.

"My phantom…Head off to the Forest Temple and stop the intruder from freeing the Forest Sage. If he does not flee before your ghastly visage, then you are free to kill him as you so wish…" After Ganondorf dictates what he wants his phantom to do, the dark copy merely turns his head and nods in stride, for he has no voice through which he can express his understanding. Dispersing into ethereal fog, the phantom rides off through the window with a bellowing "neigh" trailing below him as he heads off into the distance towards the Lost Woods. Koume and Kotake, surprised by how simple it was for their master to create a pale copy of himself, are so stunned for a moment that they nearly fail to respond when Ganondorf says to them "As for you two…"

Ganondorf flips his body back around and sits down in front of his organ once more, his hands moving towards the keys as he gives his command "Return to the Spirit Temple and continue to keep the Sage there in line…Do not take action against this intruder unless he somehow enters your domain, understood?" "Yes, my lord…" The two witches say in unison, and with a swift ride on their broomsticks they head out the windows in the exact same fashion as they did enter, and with the King of Evil left to his own devices he began to tap down upon the keys to continue the ominous tune exactly where he had left off before.

But it took only a few notes for the King of Evil to sense something amiss in the area. He felt a presence coming from the ruined Hyrule Castle Town the likes of which he had never detected before. "…Curious…" Despite the unfamiliarity towards the energy signature, Ganondorf remained composed as he moved his hands away from the organ keys and stood up. The King of Evil had to admit that whoever was brave enough to traverse his domain surely must be worth checking out for himself, so with a swing of his right hand Ganondorf began to levitate off the ground with his cape hovering behind him, and a grin on his face that signified his calm anticipation towards what he may find waiting for him down below. He flew towards the closest window in front of him, crashing through it without so much as a care towards the shards of glass that wound up around him, and with a dedicated focus he made his way towards the ruins below…

**Clash of the Elements Part 4, Story 1: The Ocarina of Time**

**Chapter 1: The Desecrated Town**

In the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town, a lone figure approaches from the entrance past the broken drawbridge. The man of approximately 14 years of age goes by the name of Riku Mew, the first part given to him by his creator as a sort of joke while he took on the last name based on part of the first name of his creator. He is a clone, as the previous sentence somewhat implied, but he is not a clone of any mere mortal. He is the Elemental Overlord, a being who controls all of the elements in the universe…To varying degrees, anyways. Seeing as Riku here is a "newborn" only in the time sense of the word and not the physical one, he hasn't had much time to master his many elements.

Anyways, the cloned Elemental Overlord has on him a crimson t-shirt with a black flame marked near the chest with a black silk sleeveless vest covering most of the shirt itself on both sides. He also wears brown rugged jeans and black tennis shoes, with his hair being black with curved spikes hang slightly above his forehead and dark grey eyes staring out into the distance. With his appearance now described to you, you may be wondering just why this child has wandered into the land of Hyrule. You see, as an Elemental Overlord its his duty to go out into the universe and help out planets who are in need of assistance, and it just so happened after a few long months of travel this was one of the first places that looked to be in need to help.

Having detected that the air is breathable in this area, Riku drops his veil of air that allowed him to survive as he flew through space, though he was immediately greeted by the nauseous smell of rotting flesh that caused his expression to scrunch up in utter disgust as he pulled his body back slightly in revolt. "Ugh…Not exactly a good first impression this place is leaving me…" The teenage clone says in a rather unimpressed tone of voice. As he tries to focus on something other than the smell, Riku begins to survey the area around him, his attention quickly moving towards the lack of life in everything from the muddy ground, the wilted tree branches, the sewage filled fountain, and the houses whose rooftops have been torn off and frameworks have been made almost useless thanks to the decay present in the wood.

Taking a couple cautious steps forward, the Elemental Overlord moved his head back and forth, noticing not a single discrepancy in all of the scenery surrounding him as he reached the center of his vacant town and immediately heard a violent roar coming from the right of him. He turned to face the volcano that hung above all in the distance, and took notice of the flaming ring of smoke surrounding the near tip of the cone. "…Is this planet on the verge of an apocalypse or something?" The boy questioned momentarily, only to shake his head slightly as he remembered something crucial that proved his inquiry wrong "No, the field outside of this area looked perfectly fine, no way this planet could be on its way towards destruction…"

Still, despite the condition of the fields behind him, the simple fact that this town looked so abandoned alongside the activity in the volcano told Riku all that he needed to know about this planet. "This place is definitely in trouble, so I better try to find some survivors and see how I can help them out…" That was the boy's simple-minded plan to deliver justice, but one that he truly had no choice but to take so long as he knew nothing about what was going on around here…But then again, as the boy folded his arms in front of his chest, he couldn't help but shake the feeling out of him that he knew exactly where he was at this very moment. However, when nothing popped into his head after a few seconds of careful thinking, Riku decided to ignore his suspicions and instead focus on figuring out just where to go from here. "This town is too barren to bother exploring thoroughly, so I'll just head back into the fields and hope I find an inhabited town out there."

With his next course of action established, Riku smiles and slams his right fist firmly against the palm of his left hand before he splits his arms apart and quickly turns around ready to leave. Without so much as a warning, the young Elemental Overlord is paralyzed as a low-pitched moan fills his eardrums, causing his heart to skip a beat in fear before the rest of his body reacts to what is going on. Standing before him are three creatures with dried up, brownish husks for a body that closely resemble that of a human's save for their wooden heads that completely lack eyeballs and their teeth are bare with decaying gums present. After the paralysis has ended, Riku leaps backwards in fear as he notices one of these grotesque creatures very nearly touching him after leaping forward like a leech.

Though the creature falls to the ground and squirms about a bit, much to Riku's relief, it slowly rises back up using nothing more than the strength of its toes to stand back up like a statue. The young Elemental Overlord holds his right hand out and prepares to summon his sword when all of a sudden the creatures release another low-pitched moan and the boy finds himself paralyzed again without explanation. All he could rely on were his thoughts, which expressed nothing but panic as the three creatures began to move closer towards him ready to prey on his flesh from the looks in their blackened sockets. Doom seemed certain for Riku before he even got much of a chance to explore this new planet, but before the foremost creature could leap out at him a snap echoed across the sky and caused all the creatures to pause and stiffen up with their heads hung out in front of them.

With his heart beating rapidly as he tried to catch his breath, Riku stared towards the creatures for a few seconds before he backed up and nearly tripped over the edge of the fountain as he turned around and faced the person responsible for stopping the zombies. It was the King of Evil himself, Ganondorf, who floated slightly above the ground with his right arm slowly withdrawing back towards the side of his body. The man smirked at Riku as he stared down at him, and with a callous yet eager look in his eyes the Gerudo said to the Elemental Overlord in a calm tone "So a child wishes to defy the reign of the mighty Ganondorf? I know not who you are, but for your bravery in coming here…I shall reward you with oblivion…"

_Next Time: The Might of the King of Evil_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The King of Evil, Ganondorf**

"G-Ganondorf?" Riku Mew stuttered in fear and shock as he stabilizes his body's posture after being freed from the paralyzing effects of the undead creature's moans. His tone reeked of familiarity towards the royal Gerudo even though the man in question never once met this boy in his life. Naturally, this caused Ganondorf to take pause for a moment and raise and eyebrow, his muscles loosening to remove his preparedness towards battle for the time being as he looks down at the boy and says to him "Yes, I do believe I made that point clear…What do you know of me, child?" With his arms folded in expectance towards a swift response, Ganondorf keeps himself in the air while his eyes stayed focused on the young Elemental Overlord.

Riku, having full confirmation of the Gerudo's identity, turns his head back slightly and glances at the zombie creatures, their names now being remembered as ReDeads, before he looks back at the perilous volcano named Death Mountain and realizes with widened eyes and an agape mouth that he was in the land of Hyrule, a place that by all means should be fictional. But not just that, he had arrived on this planet during the time of Ganondorf's rule from the video game "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time", even though on his world the story of what went down here had been told many, many years ago. In all honesty, this information should reassure Riku that things will be fine on this world because the Hero of Time will eventually arrive and stop Ganondorf for good, but there were a couple problems with that…

One, he had the misfortune of running into the King of Evil right now, and second was the fact that the Gerudo had to be in possession of the Triforce of Power at this very moment. Even though he was an Elemental Overlord, the fact that the Triforce of Power effectively made Ganondorf immortal except when faced with certain divine powers meant that, logically, Riku shouldn't be able to kill him himself…"Wait a second…'divine powers'…" Thinking to himself for a moment about those two words as he tried to regain his composure under the expectation that the King of Evil would be fooled into believing that he was not still shocked by where he had arrived at, the teenage Overlord glanced at his right hand, which he uses to draw forth his sword when he goes into battle, and remembers something that he has thanks to being a clone of Mewmaster…

"That's right, I should have Mew's Light Form…That should provide me with the type of divine energy I need to take care of Ganondorf right here and now…" Standing strong against the King of Evil, Riku swings his right hand out beside the side of his body and arches his eyebrows. Ganondorf smirks and presses his fingers inward towards his palm while tensing his muscles work against his bones and create a steady cracking sound. "I'm not afraid of you, King of Evil." The Elemental Overlord says bravely. Though he hated the idea of fighting now that he knew what path this planet was going along time wise, he also knew that Ganondorf wouldn't let him leave his sight now that he showed interest in fighting.

"Just can't let him know that I have knowledge of the Triforce and his other powers…Better open up with something other than Light Form, since I heal up whenever I change forms…" With his thoughts flowing through his mind calmly, the young Overlord closes his eyelids and focuses towards his extended right hand, drawing upon the power of all the elements inside him in order to bundle them together like strands of hair and thrust them out from his palm in the form of a large spout of flames, both of which split at the center and swerve back and forth across the air in a spectacularly curved manner until its length is half of that of the boy's height, at which point they connected back together at the center and began to solidify.

What was birthed from the flames was a gilded sword that very much resembled a strand of DNA up until the tip, with both intertwining, curved blades having a different color to set themselves apart from the other. One was pearly white, the other was jet black, but the one thing that connected the two together was the fact that between the two gaps were seven pulsating strands of elemental energy that, naturally, represented the powers that he wielded. There was not a handle per say, but rather a circle of neutral energy that swirled around the young Overlord's hand that allowed him to mentally control his weapon so long as it wasn't pulled out of the range of his body. One more thing to note is that unlike his predecessor, Riku's blades did not erupt with crimson fire, and instead stayed as plain as they were at the moment of their emergence.

"Interesting blade, child…" Ganondorf said with intrigue as he began to wiggle his fingers and use his dark magic is create a dark, purplish tint around his hands. Riku took his blade and curled his fingers up to pretend like he had a handle between them and his palm, and with a thought the consequences of which he knew nothing about he was shocked as the blade dragged his arm across the air and pointed itself towards the King of Evil. "Huh? W-Why is my blade moving like this? I'm pretty certain Mew's sword wasn't crafted like this going by my memories…" With his eyes widening briefly in tune with his shock, Riku looks up and bolsters his confidence for a moment as he stares down Ganondorf once more and hopes that the Gerudo didn't notice his uncertainty towards his own weapon.

"Great, I didn't think I'd have a different sword than Mew does…I really should have tested to make sure of that before I got into any battles. Fine mess you've gotten yourself into now Riku…" The teenage Overlord berates himself inside of his head while preventing his dismay from slipping into his expression. His eyes move towards the blade itself with a curious glare at the fact that because of the lack of a handle, he doesn't have any elemental triggers in front of him. "Oh great…" He thinks in a tone of worrying sarcasm as the right side of his lips lift up by accident to match his concern "How am I supposed to change forms without an trig-" "If you are not going to make the first move, then that's no concern of mine…"

Ganondorf's words snap Riku out of his train of thought and with his right hand crackling with dark yellow electricity derived entirely from magic, the King of Evil rises up into the air just a bit more while keeping his fist held high above his head, and the foreboding sensation in the air is more than enough to tell the teenage Overlord to leap up the very moment that the Gerudo thrusts his arm downward like a hammer and descends towards the ground in an instant. The fist impacts the muddy surface, a web of raw energy dispersing all around Ganondorf while the sheer might of his punch breaks apart and creates upheaval in the ground as the broken fragments are pressed together and pushed upwards.

Riku falls back onto the ground just outside the edge of the turmoil, and with his body trembling slightly in shock towards the King of Evil's raw power, he stares on as the Gerudo's cape gently falls down to rest against the man's armor as he begins to raise his head and look to see his opponent's reaction. The teenage Overlord corrected his expression just in the nick of time though, so Ganondorf sees nothing but the brave look on Riku's face while the fragments of his dark magic fizzle across the ground. "Interesting…" The King of Evil murmurs coyly, his lips curling into a subtle smile as he pulls his body off the ground and swings his right arm out beside him ready to continue the fight.

Riku didn't like the type of tone that Ganondorf took, especially since looking back on it, he did react too quickly to the Gerudo's attack. "Right, I got to play my cards right here…Can't let Ganondorf know just how familiar I am with this world…" Of course, the fact that the young Overlord knew little about how to work his sword meant that he could at the very least pass of as an inexperienced if somewhat confident swordsman as he tried to grasp how to operate his weapon…Right in the middle of a life or death battle. This prospect really didn't sit well with Riku in the slightest, but its not like he could instantly force himself to become an expert with a snap of the fingers. For now, the teenage Overlord would just have to accept using basic swords slashes to combat the King of Evil, since it wouldn't be too difficult to mentally guide his blade through the air.

Keeping his sword extended straight on in front of the length of his arm, Riku leaps across the air and heads towards Ganondorf with the momentum of his launch carrying him forward. With a mental command towards his blade, the teenage Overlord guides both it and his arms across the air in a swift, articulate manner with the tip aimed directly at the King of Evil's neck. With only a few inches separating himself and his foe, Ganondorf calmly raises his right gauntlet in defiance of the child's attack, the metal proving strong enough to only be nicked by the Overlord's blade as sparks fly out in a flurry from the impact and the boy is left in a prime position for Ganondorf to make a counterstrike. Swinging his left hand out while pulling his right limb back faster than one would expect from such a muscular being, the King of Evil snaps his fingers a short distance away from Riku's gut as his sword is moved back out to the right side of his body.

In an instant a burst of dark energy encompasses the small area below the stomach and creates a paralyzing field of dark yellow electricity around the teenage Overlord's body that causes him to spasm slightly as he is otherwise frozen in place directly in front of Ganondorf's body. Laughing quietly to himself for a moment, the King of Evil floated back slightly and lowered himself so his shoulders are lined up with the Overlord's body, at which point he thrusts his as of then held back right arm forward with violet fog surrounding the hand before it latches onto the top of Riku's head. Ganondorf quickly raises his body back up and smirks as he wraps his fingers tightly around his opponent's skull and causes the dark energy around his hand to pulsate like a flame.

This causes the paralysis to wear off, but Riku is unable to defend himself in time as Ganondorf presses all of the energy he has got built up in his arm straight through his palm to create a powerful, compacted detonation while simultaneously releasing his grip around the Overlord's skull. Riku is sent hurtling towards the broken ground, his backside smacking against the slanted, muddy fragments and causing him to bounce once back into the air before he moves outside the ruined circle of stone. However, before he lands and skids across his back, the teenage Overlord widens his eyes and with unwavering focus he uses his power over the wind to create a cushion beneath his body that catches him in place, the weight of his body causing the bundle wind to move down an inch before rising back up as the pressure subsides.

Though there was a bit of disorientation caused by the force of the blow to Riku's head, the young Overlord shakes it off to the point that there is only a slight blur in his vision as he begins to lift his body up and slowly break apart the cushion of wind from the front all the way to the back so his feet can be the first to land on the ground. Before the wind vanishes, Riku doesn't bother to waste any time in getting back into the battle by leaping into the air towards Ganondorf once more. Smirking at the repeated efforts of his foe, Ganondorf readies his right arm to block the attack with his mind already preparing for something different, and when the tip of Riku's blade strikes his gauntlet once more he moves his left hand forward ready to counterstrike…

Only this time around the teenage Overlord swerves his body to follow his swing and with his power of flight activates he launches himself across the air past the left side of Ganondorf's gaze, which widens immensely in shock for a brief moment as he moves his left hand out against his better instincts and finishes his move without anyone actually being there to strike. "What is this madness?" The Gerudo asks in composed disbelief towards what just happened, and as he turns his head to face the boy as he flies in an arc to come back around and charge at his unguarded backside the King of Evil quickly swings his right arm out to push part of his cape away from his body as he turns himself towards his opponent and readies his left hand with the essence of dark magic that resided inside of him.

With a dark yellow aura surrounding his hand, Ganondorf faced the rushing boy and thrust his fist out to launch a sphere of magic roughly twice the size of his head that had a ethereal trail of crackling energy flowing behind it as it traveled through the air. Riku guided his sword in front of himself with a tracking focus from his eyes towards his blade as it carved right through the magic sphere from right to left and broke it apart, leaving nothing in the way of obstacles between himself and the King of Evil. With his sword still in motion, the teenage Overlord noticed the Gerudo raising his guard in the upper part of his body, and with a glimmer of inspiration Riku chose to throw Ganondorf off by changing just where he planned to strike.

However, a simple lowering of the arm would be easily caught and stopped by the King of Evil, so to strike his legs Riku would have to be a little more imaginative in his efforts. Thus, the boy mentally commanded his arm to keep moving to the left while at the same time he began to spin his body around in the same direction rapidly until the point came to pass where he would either have to strike Ganondorf or collide head first into his armor. With no hesitation, the teenage Overlord halted his rotation and swung his blade in a downward arc with enough force that the tip managed to cut through both of the Gerudo's grieves and nearly nick the man's skin. Unfortunately, because of that near-miss Ganondorf did not flinch and managed to slam his right elbow down against Riku's back after empowering it with his dark magic.

The Overlord's flight is abruptly stopped as pain thrusts itself through his spinal cord in both directions, the echoing crack caused by the impact is heard by Riku despite the dilated expression that became encumbered upon his face, but said change lasts only a fleeting moment before he is falls and crashes against the ground right below. A plume of dirt and dust rises in no particular shape, and Ganondorf levitates out through the back of it as the launched debris crumbles back onto the ground one bit at the time. Through the veil of destruction that he created, the King of Evil fails to catch a glimpse of his opponent's current condition, but he had full confidence in the fact that his blow did permanent harm to the boy.

In a few seconds as the area becomes clearer, Ganondorf raises his eyebrows out of captivation towards his foe's efforts as he sees the shadow of his figure rising up from the pile of rubble that he had been made a part of upon impact. From Riku's point of view though, he did not notice the fascination in the King of Evil's eyes, because his slanted head was pointed at the ground while his vision palpitated in tune with his hard beating heart. He was using his sword as a means of support, but because of the lack of a solid handle the blade barely managed to serve its purpose as a stable crutch since Riku's mental connection was being swayed by the pain coursing through his very being.

"H-How can he be doing this kind of damage to me?" The teenage Overlord questioned to himself as he coughed out a bit of dust that lodged itself into the back of his throat. With the last of the debris having fallen and the area becoming as clear as it can be considering the dismal conditions, Riku begins to push against both his knees and sword to lift himself up and regain even footing in the center of the rubble around him while thinking to himself "Triforce of Power or not…Ganondorf shouldn't be a threat to me in my base state…" Having stood back upright, the Overlord pulled his blade out of the ground and stabilized it beside his body before lifting his head up to face the King of Evil.

Ganondorf grins, his eyelids lowering back to their normal spot as he in turn looks down at his mysterious foe and says to himself "I will admit, you are more resilient than I expected…" Tightly grasping his right hand into the shape of a fist, the Gerudo raises it into the air ready to make a point towards the child as the symbol of his piece of the Triforce glows brightly on the back of his hand "But no amount of resilience matters in the face of the immortality that the Triforce grants me, child." The symbol slowly fades away in nothingness, and Ganondorf swings his arm back out beside his body with such strength that the wind from his motion pushes part of his cape backwards.

"However, I see now that you are no ordinary mortal…The most defining element separating you from the rest of the Hylians in this world besides your lack of pointed ears being your ability to fly without so much as a hint of magic around your body as you move about." As Ganondorf proves just how analytical he is simply by watching his foe for but a few moments, he ominously raises his right hand into the air and presses his thumb and middle fingers together, his facial expression remaining neutral as silence draws across the land. Riku's muscles tense up out of concern as Ganondorf then breaks the calm around him and lets a smirk cross his face "However, do not think that I haven't foreseen the possibility of you escaping my sight, child…"

The fingers he pushed closer continue to rub together before they separate and the echo of his snap fills the skies while a string of dark magic appearing from between his fingers rises into the air and strikes the center of the sky above the King of Evil. From that central point eight rays of violet darkness spread outward in all directions and cover the battlefield in an impenetrable dome that stayed fully connected to Ganondorf's own life. The Gerudo lifts his head up and smiles as his barrier is completed, considering the dome to be a grandiose piece of work as his levitation is suddenly stopped and his body slowly descends back onto the fragmented ground with the bottom of his grieves crunching against the rubble and a foreboding whisper of wind being the last bit of noise heard by both parties for the next five seconds as the King of Evil lowers his head to face the Overlord with his confident smile striking a bit of fear into his opponent's already tensing heart.

With rapid, pounding heartbeats against his chest, Riku's pupils shrink in conjunction with his eyes widening as he realizes just how frightening it was to be entrapped in this dome with such a powerful, immortal madman. The fear that was grasping his mind threatened to break the little control he had on his sword, as evidence by the numbing sensation moving through his right arm as the sword's entire being began to distort out of existence. And while it was true that fear was part of the reason as to why Riku's blade was about to leave him, the confusion the teenage Overlord had in regards to the difference in strength between himself and the King of Evil also played a part in this matter.

Now Riku could either let his emotions get the best of him, or he could regain his focus and try and do something about his predicament. Those were his only two options, and seeing as though the Elemental Overlord wasn't a total idiot he made the right decision in shaking his head and blocking off his fear and doubts for the time being while thinking to himself "I'll figure out what's going on in regards to my strength later…I have to kill Ganondorf, or god knows that he'll end my life himself." With his focus regained for now, the young Overlord looked up and listened as the Gerudo spoke to him "You are not going to fly your way out of here now child. From this point on, you shall fight me on the ground."

"Yeah, well that's not exactly a joyous prospect…" Riku bemoaned in his head as his eyebrows arched downward in annoyance, though the focus of his emotions were more towards his mysterious sword than the King of Evil himself. Though thankfully for the teenage Overlord, he was able to infer from the man's comments that he himself could no longer levitate…Not so luckily though, the boy was more worried about Ganondorf's fists and legs than he were his magical attacks simply because of how hard he struck. "I can't afford to play around in that case…" Looking towards his blade, Riku tried to piece together just how to activate his forms via his mind while he still had a free chance to do so.

"I shall give you a few seconds to grasp the magnitude of your situation child, so make them worthwhile…" Ganondorf made the time limit perfectly known to his opponent, and that only helped to make Riku raise his eyes up briefly in panic before looking back down at his blade and inquiring to himself "…I wonder if I have to think about what form I want in order to change…" It was the only option that the boy had time to think about, for Ganondorf's time limit was coming to an end as evidence by the cracking smile and the repositioning of the Gerudo's body to face his opponent once more. "No time to waste…" Riku thought to himself as he bravely held his sword diagonally beside his body and glared at the King of Evil in pure defiance of his power while mentally speaking to his blade "Come on, give me the form I need, quickly!"

The blade, of course, listened to its master wishes…But because of his haste to change forms along with the vagueness of his command, the sword interpreted things differently than what Riku desired and the glowing ring around the boy's hand began to switch colors from neutral to black, the process beginning from below the palm until it swirls around and fills the ring up all the way. Emerging all around the teenage Overlord's hand is a circle of black flames that flares up and alerts the boy of what was going on. Turning to face the event, Riku watches as his sword vanishes after becoming a chrome wireframe and the black flames begin to crawl across his arm at a rapid pace with the boy's eyes flinching in surprise because of how unfamiliar this type of energy was in relation to his own body.

Once the ring reaches the shoulder it expands outward and splits off into two different rings with one going up and another going down, and this is where the most obvious changes to the Overlord's appearance begin to form. First off, Riku gains ethereal, foggy black demonic claws that are attached to both of his arms. Second, as the top ring move past the shoulder blades and heads towards the neck, the black flames eject out from both sides of the back like hellish spouts as they shape themselves into curved, demonic wings behind him. Following up on this addition to his body is the changing of his iris color from dark grey to hazy yellow, and the bottom ring creates solid looking, ethereal grieves around the legs.

With the transformation at an end, Riku found himself puzzled by two things. Besides the most immediate problem in this unfamiliar form of his, he also wondered just what happened to his sword in the interim, since he no longer had it attached to his right arm. "W-What is this form? Its not my Light one, that's for sure…" Riku should be thankful towards the King of Evil right now for the fact that he is currently too busy looking on with intrigue at his opponent's transformation to bother attacking, otherwise in the midst of his confusion the Overlord wouldn't have been able to react in time to Ganondorf's planned charge. "Ugh…Whatever, I'll just get my sword back out and change to the proper form and figure out what's up with this one later."

Holding his right claw out in front of his body in an attempt to draw out his sword, Riku watches as despite all of his willpower focusing on the summoning the end result is that the ethereal darkness interferes with the process and causes the rest of the elemental energies to reject its master's attempts by creating a painful shock across his arm that causes him to pull it back instinctively. His right eyelid closes briefly on reflex, and with the limb held up in front of his face the teenage Overlord finds himself greatly concerned by his inability to draw forth his own weapon. "…Great, just what I needed, to be stuck in this unfamiliar form when I'm possibly about to die…" Riku bemoans in his head as he looks up out of panic and sees the King of Evil flexing his fingers inward ready to continue the fight.

The one upside to this mysterious new form is that Riku felt a lot stronger than he did beforehand, possibly even more-so than he would have been had he chosen to go into his Light Form. However, pure strength wasn't what he wanted. He needed the divine elemental powers of his Light Form to deal with Ganondorf's immortality. "Of course, maybe darkness could prove to be just as useful as light in this situation…" Riku thought to himself as he arched his eyebrows bravely and looked towards the King of Evil. "You know what they say after all…Fight fire with fire…" With this in kind, the teenage Overlord took his right ethereal claw and wagged his fingers inward to taunt Ganondorf into fighting him.

"If that is what you wish then child…" The King of Evil folds his arms in front of his chest and moves one foot forward to step off of the pile of rubble beneath him. Though the ground beneath his feet is still uneven, Ganondorf keeps a steady footing while taking his right arm slightly in front of his body and holding the other one bent beside his left side. "Then so be it. Now you shall see what one who wields the Triforce is capable of!" With bravado, the King of Evil charges forward, his feet pounding at and crumbling the fragmented ground as he makes his way towards his mysterious opponent. Riku faces the man and closes his eyelids slightly as he focuses on his right claw and commands it to hopefully lash out from the rest of his arm. The ethereal claw flies through the air and collides with the front of Ganondorf's armor, proving absolutely ineffective as it breaks apart and forces a new one to be formed where the broken segment is.

Realizing that basic attacks would prove ineffectual, Riku leaped backwards as the King of Evil jumped towards him and raised his right fist above his head before coming down like an unstoppable meteor and pounding the ground with enough force to level a skyscraper. The immediate impact reverberates across the ground, and all rubble that remained vibrated immensely to the point that they were atomized into their basic, grainy form. All that was left on the ground afterwards was the pure raw clay buried underneath the stone. It should also be noted that the destruction was contained within the dome. The shockwave of raw power struck the air and unnerved Riku as he fell to the ground and trembled slightly.

Ganondorf, on the other hand, merely lifted himself back up and smirked in the face of his opponent's nervous expression. But even in the face of the man's powers, Riku still tried to muster up faith in his victory. He ran forward, taking his claws and forming sphere of condensed neon darkness into them until he was but a few feet away from Ganondorf, at which point he took the right sphere and stretched it straight into the man's chest, the darkness pushing against the metal to the point that it bursts and unleashes its full might upon the King of Evil. A cloud of smoke erupts from the damage armor, leading Riku to believe that his attack was effective and his second sphere would break through the chest plate itself.

For all his hopes though, Riku is only met with Ganondorf's thrusting right arm through the smog, which the teenage Overlord only has a second to react to…An inefficient amount of time against this juggernaut as his fingers latch themselves around his neck and keep a tight grip on it as the King of Evil raises the boy's body into the air. "Enough of your efforts, child." Ganondorf says out of disappointment as he watches the second sphere in the boy's claws fade out of existence while his arms go limp and the eyelids sink down as a reaction to the pain. The King of Evil looks up and down his opponent's body, taking note of the darkness surrounding him while the boy tries his hardest to move his arms and fight back.

Ganondorf cares little about the boy's efforts though, for his eyes rise up past the moving limbs and stare straight into Riku's eyes. The teenage Overlord can't sense anything besides the calm malice of the King of Evil, but in the end he cares more about his own safety then the Gerudo's emotional state. With a mighty struggle, the young Overlord took his arms and lifted them up against the pressure brought on by Ganondorf's grasp, and moved them towards the arm that was resting in the air in front of him. He took his claws of darkness and wrapped both of them around in the same area between the man's wrist and elbow. But through it all, the King of Evil merely smiled and said to his mysterious opponent "I know not who you are…But you put up more of a resistance than anyone else has over the past seven years."

"However…" Ganondorf raises his left hand up so the glowing black tips of his fingers were pointed at the area where Riku's heart resides. "You are not worthy enough to wield darkness…You are too pure and naïve, child…Your power will be better used, in MY hands!" With one mighty boast, the King of Evil thrusts his empowered fingertips into the chest of the Elemental Overlord. A painful sensation seeps into Riku's chest as it feels as though the Gerudo's fingers have plunged through his flesh and reached into the very deepest part of his heart itself. In actuality, the dark magic of Ganondorf works its way through Riku's body and plunges itself into his nerves and spiritual bindings like a forever growing root, which in turn causes the young Overlord's body to stiffen up against its will despite the immense pain pulsating throughout every fiber of his very being.

When Ganondorf has gotten his grip on every bit of darkness inside of the young Overlord, he pulls his hand back just an inch, and in an instant the paralysis in Riku's body wears off as his vision becomes inverted in both color and direction from a second that feels as though it lasts an eternity. A sensation similar to his entire body cracking from an overexertion of pressure strikes the teenage Overlord, and unbeknownst to him at the moment his body instantly shifts back to its base state. Ganondorf withdraws his left arm back beside himself as the process ends, and with a smirk on his face he releases his grip on Riku's neck. The teenage Overlord falls knees first onto the ground, his body limp with agonizing pain as his eyes stare blankly up towards the fading dome.

The King of Evil turns his body around without showing any change in his demeanor or aura despite the influx of darkness inside of his body. He begins to walk away from the battlefield without saying a word to his opponent as the boy finds himself unable to carry the weight of his upper body and falls to the ground with the right side of his face acting as his only support as the rest of his body sinks flat against the clay beneath him. Ganondorf raises his right hand into the air as the clanking of his metal grieves against the floor becomes the only thing Riku hears for the next few seconds until the Gerudo snaps his fingers to reawaken the ReDeads in the immediate area. The King of Evil says not another word beyond that point, for his figured fades away into the distance while the decaying monstrosities begin to limber over to where the teenage Overlord is at.

With his body currently stiff from the forceful process that robbed him of his powers of darkness, Riku can do nothing but lay down in agony as the ReDeads prepare to devour his resting form. It appeared as though the teenage Overlord would be left to die before his journey had truly begun, but not everything was as simple as that. As the low-pitched moans of the zombies filled the air, they were all overcome by a brave cry as the sound of a sword being unsheathed grows louder for the few seconds the action occurs, and within a blinding moment Riku watches as one ReDead head falls to the ground in front of his gaze and a blur of green and grey passes in front of his slowly fading gaze. Riku's eyelids begin to close to signify the boy's slip into a peaceful state of rest, and because of that he fails to notice the actions of the person who had come to rescue him from the ReDeads…The actions of a Hylian, by the name of Link…

_Next Time: The Hero of Time_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Hero of Time**

_The sky is bathed in smoke and crimson red, fires crackling across the ruined landscape where a mighty castle once stood. Through the thicket of smoke emerged the occasional burst of lightning to give vision to those in the area. There is a faint, echoing gasp of panic coming from the right, but the person who is as of now gazing upon the scene of destruction is unable to see who is responsible for the noise because of how numb his body is as he rests upon the ground. But with hands reaching for the graveled floor in front of him, the person tried to crawl forward and get a better grasp on what was happening around him. He looked up upon hearing the clink of metal from a sword as the blade is picked up from the ground, and finds a man wearing a green tunic standing before him ready to confront what appears to be the instigator of this chaos._

_The defensive stance the person takes is weak, with his knees bent down slightly and his body leaned forward as if the man was ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion. One had to wonder what motivated this person to fight, especially as the being he is defending himself against slowly walks across the scorched earth and reveals himself to the fallen observer. From a glance, one would have every right to assume that the man was Ganondorf, the King of Evil. Everything about his appearance was intact from the hair to his armor…But then a look into his eyes revealed a furious, yellow glow while the Triforce of Power on his right hand had taken on a pulsating, hellish crimson glow. _

_He also had a sword in his right hand that was much different than the one he was more noted for wielding, with the blade being colored reddish-brown and an upside-down lighter colored Triforce is seen just above the dark grey, demon wing crested handle. As the King of Evil stood a few feet away from the tired warrior standing defiantly before him, the man on the ground observed as a foggy, malicious appearing visage floated in the air behind him, the true appearance of the spirit becoming noticeable for only a brief second as lightning crashed upon the ground. The most that the man caught was a scaly demonic creature with hair made of pure fire before the green tunic warrior took his blade beside him and charged forward at the King of Evil…And then all fades to black in an instant…_

After an unknown period time of unconsciousness, Riku's eyelids thrust open without warning, his heart skipping a beat before it begins rapidly pounding. A raspy breath is the first conscious action the teenage Overlord takes upon awakening, but without even knowing that it was in front of him he simultaneously latches his hands around the front of the bed sheet resting on top of him. It takes a few moments for Riku to calm down and begin breathing at his normal pace, but in the mean time a warm sweat drips down the sides of his face and patters down upon the thick wooden board acting as his means of back comfort below. "Huff…Huff…Ha…Ha…" The moment that the Overlord manages to regain control of his breathing is signified by a slight intake of air through his nostrils, and following up on this action Riku manages to get his first actual feel of the silk bed sheet.

His body definitely felt relaxed and warm after the prior tension he experienced upon awakening, and this fabric certain was to thank for the rather pleasant warmth flowing through his skin…But now Riku had to wonder just where he was. Finding out his location was, to him, a more important priority than the nightmare he just had or the aftermath of his battle with Ganondorf. Riku lifts his body up and takes a look around while his eyelids sink slightly due to some lingering exhaustion. He was inside of a rather humble looking household that consisted of this single room that was square in shape but rather average in size. A quick glance to the right revealed to the teenage Overlord that this was a two-person abode, seeing as there was another bed just a few feet away from the one he was laying on.

As he looked towards the second bed, Riku heard the crackling of fire behind him and quickly turned to face the small, rounded stone fireplace/stove that was resting in the corner closest to the beds. The fire inside created a pillar of heat high enough that it helped slowly boil the water in the large steel pot resting on top of it while also providing warmth throughout the limited space in this house. Some other things of note as Riku turned his head around slowly was a two-seated, square wooden table, a four shelved dresser, a rounded table with a small chip in it that held three orange-ish fruits on top, a high-up shelf that carried the weight of three large, black clay pots and a second rounded table with two bendable wooden chairs beside them near the doorway that appeared to be more suited for conversation than dining in comparison to the square one in front of him.

One thing was certain to Riku after he had examined this comforting residence, and it was that he was definitely not in the hands of any enemy…Though that just raised further questions as to how he went from being unconscious in the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town right as ReDeads were about to devour him to arriving in the bed of some stranger's house. The teenage Overlord stares blankly at the bed sheet in front of him while sitting up straight and wracking his mind to try and remember what the last thing he saw was before his eyelids shut. But through minutes of constant concentration, Riku was unable to come up with a single answer to his questions simply because he drew nothing but blanks when recalling the events after the battle with Ganondorf.

"Well…Guess I'll just have to ask the owner of this house who brought me here when they come back…" Is what the teenage Overlord resigns towards when all else fails. He then lets out a minor sigh of depression as he removes all sense of control from his body and allows gravity to bring his head back down against the pillow below so he can rest and think about what happened earlier. "…Boy, I really let you down here today Mew…" Is the immediate thing that he whispers through his lips as he folds one arm behind his head and gazes up into the ceiling only to find a thinly veiled version of his brother/creator's face looking away from him, acting upon Riku's conscious thoughts towards how he feels he would react if he went back and told him what happened.

"…" Riku's expression becomes sour, his eyelids sinking down in agitation as he recalls the most important factor in his loss against Ganondorf. "It was all because of that…Demonic based form my sword forced me into…" Remembering how that form proved quickly ineffectual against the King of Evil, the teenage Overlord was drawn into another inquiry. "…I got all of my forms from Mew, which means that he has darkness inside of him for whatever reason, yet never gave me any memories related to that event, hence my confusion…So now I have to wonder, just why did he hide this from me?" Riku began to express disdain towards his brother for lying to him outright, but before too much negativity corrupted his train of thought the boy closed his eyelids and let out a calming sigh.

"Focus here Riku…" The boy says to himself as a means of reassurance. "I'm sure Mew had a perfectly good reason for not letting me know about his darkness…Even if it meant that I would end up seeing the form myself." Seeing a bit of flaw in his thoughts there, Riku quickly rationalizes that one, there is no way that Mew could have known that his own blade would have turned out the way it did, and second was that Riku should have been more specific instead of expecting a mentally commanded weapon to give him exactly what he wanted. After using logic to solve his immediate problem, Riku changes the subject on his mind towards something more dire than this mystery regarding the darkness inside of him…And that was what Ganondorf had done to it.

Pulling his body up once more while laying the front of his arms down against his legs, Riku got a rather serious expression on his face as he looked forward and thought to himself "Ganondorf definitely siphoned the darkness right out of my body…Somehow…Don't know how he pulled it off considering how connected all of the elemental energy I use is with my very soul, but he did…Anyways, the point of the matter is, Ganondorf now has my darkness, which more than likely means he has-" Riku's thoughts are interrupted and he flinches momentarily as he hears the doorknob at the entrance click and begin to turn. The door slowly creaked open, and a lady began to walk into the house with her head turned towards the outdoors as she moved.

The lady was rather portly, but not to the extent that it would be fair to call her "fat" even though the white gown with light-blue floral stripes that extended to cover her feet weren't doing her any favors in regards to her appearance. Her hair was brown, with most of it bundled up into a strange, upside-down pyramid shaped bun just above the back of her scalp. Under her right, sleeveless arm was a small red pot that sloshed around as her limb wiggled, indicating that she was carrying a liquid of some sort inside the pot. She opened her mouth and though the term likely didn't exist in this world she spoke with a country style accent towards an unseen person standing not too far away, as evidenced by the quiet volume she was taking "Thanks again sir for contributing a few rupees into helping me pick up this Red Potion, I'm sure it will really help towards the recovery of-"

As the woman nears the end of her sentence she turns her head around, her eyes and mouth widening briefly in shock as her left fingers move towards the front of her lips and she mutters out in disbelief "Well I'll be!" She then turns back outside the door and waves her left hand at the person she was previous speaking to, mentioning to them "Sir, sir!" She declares, which Riku thus interprets as a sign that said person was beginning to leave the area before the lady called out to him. Once its clear that she has the person's attention, the lady motions her fingers towards the door and says to them "The person you rescued and brought to me has awoken…I'm actually rather surprised that I didn't need to give him the Red Potion after all…" Riku finds his interest piqued by the mention of a "rescue", since this means that he'll finally get to meet and thank the person who saved him from the ReDeads. The lady moves more into the house to let the person walk inside freely, and as she turns around and sets the Red Potion down on the first rounded table in front the mysterious savior took the first step into the house…And immediately, Riku's eyes widen out of shock and recognition towards who was entering.

He was a Hylian wearing a green tunic similar to the one witnessed in Riku's nightmare, the bottom of it reaching down slightly past his waist as a red belt suspends it in place. A brown belt is wrapped around his left shoulder, keeping a leather sheath held behind his back where a sword with a sapphire eagle winged hilt can be seen poking out from the tip of the sheath. The teenage Overlord could also see the upper edge of a metallic shield behind the sheath, but nothing else beyond that due to the man's position. Underneath the man's tunic was a white turtleneck garb of sorts whose sleeves extended into the brown leather, fingertip-less gauntlets wrapped around his hands. A cloth similar to the one that composes his shirt can also be seen in his pants, which extend down into his brown leather boots. The man's blonde hair was mostly obscured by his green cap, but the strands bundled together above his forehead were folded back until they reached the lobes of his pierced, elven ears. Save for those ears, the man's face looked very much like a normal human's, especially when it came to his blue eyes.

"Li-" Riku very nearly slipped the name of the Hylian through his tongue, but stopped himself and sucked his lips inward for a moment before it came out. He then had to reprimand himself for even considering letting anyone else find out about his knowledge towards this world. The teenage Overlord stayed quiet as the man turned towards him and as he opens his mouth ready to speak, a twinkle echoes across the room as a small blue light with pixie wings flies out from behind the green tunic man and says in a young yet slightly high-pitched feminine voice "Hey! How are you holding up there? You were pretty out of it when we found you earlier…" The man turns towards the flying speck of light, his lips curling into a gentle smile even though its clear that he was slightly annoyed at the winged being for immediately bombarding the mysterious boy with inquiries as loudly as she did.

"Navi, no need to be so blunt…He just woke up after all." The Hylian spoke in a mature, very friendly and somewhat joking tone towards the blue speck he named as Navi. Navi turned around and fluttered up and down rapidly a few times, saying to her companion "Sorry Link, I was just curious, that's all." In a more laidback, apologetic tone of voice. With all she needed to say out of the way, the blue creature flew down and hovered herself above Link's left shoulder, floating back and forth behind him as he walked forward and took a seat down on one of the wooden stools that rested close by the bed the mysterious boy was in. The Hylian laid his hands on his legs in front of him, and in an empathetic, more natural for his age tone of voice Link lifted his right hand up to gesture with it while asking the very taken aback Riku "So, how are you feeling right now?"

Riku didn't know how to react at first to the appearance of Link and his fairy compatriot Navi. After all, how could one ever believe that they would someday have the chance to come face to face with one of the most notable heroes from video game lore? The shock and joy combined was overwhelming, leaving the teenage Overlord as nothing more than a silent statue for a few seconds much to Link's confusion. Though he wanted to let his emotions be known right now, Riku contained himself when he once again found himself forced to recall just how limited his knowledge of this world should appear to be to everyone else besides him. So with a faked sigh meant to signify exhaustion, Riku hung his head slightly and responded to Link with "I'm holding up well…"

A short and simple answer allowed the teenage Overlord to quickly move on to another subject, and he raised his head to look the green tunic Hylian in the eyes and ask him "So I heard you were the one who rescued me…What were you doing in that town?" Link smiled at Riku's sincere question, a chuckle escaping his lips as he said humorously "I was actually going to ask you that, but seeing that you asked first…" With his hands resting against his legs once more, Link got a more serious look in his eyes as he arched his eyebrows and said "I was on my way here to Kakariko Village when the ground started to rumble in the direction of the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town, so me and Navi came over to investigate only to find you lying down unconscious, surrounded by ReDeads."

"What happened after that?" Riku asked politely, his tone dripping with curiosity as he eagerly awaited a continuation of the story. "Well, after slaying the ReDeads, I picked you up and carried you all the way into town, where I then brought you to this lady's house and she allowed you to rest on her bed until you recovered…Which surprisingly, didn't take that long at all." The mention of time caused the teenage Overlord to flinch briefly and lift his eyebrows up while thinking to himself "Oh yeah, now that I think about it…" With then segued into his conversation as he gestured with his right hand and asked Link "Really? I wasn't out for very long?" "Nope, probably about an hour at the most." The green tunic Hylian replies quickly yet coherently, providing relief to the young Riku's mind as he let out a sigh and tilted his head away from his current gaze.

"Now then, any chance you can tell me just why you were in Hyrule Castle Town?" Riku's eyelids widen open beyond the range of Link's line of vision as the Hylian asks him that piercing question, and in a bit of a panic the teenage Overlord's pupils shrink and he thinks to himself "Oh great…" He was nowhere near ecstatic when it came to having to tell Link about his battle with Ganondorf, especially since the King of Evil's victory was the reason why he was in such an unfortunate condition when Link found him. But in the end, there was no way to dodge the question without ruining his chances of earning Link's trust. "Hey!" The high-pitched cry of attentiveness from Navi broke Riku's concerns for the time being, with a small sigh emerging from his lips before he lifted his head up and was immediately greeted by the fairy bouncing up and down only a few inches away from his face.

Pulling his head back slightly so his nose wouldn't bump into the blue creature, Riku watched as Navi froze up for a moment and flew back over besides Link's face as the Hylian tilted his head upward to keep an eye on her while asking "What's up Navi?" The blue fairy looks down at Riku, particularly the sides of his face, and responded to her compatriot "Link, look at his ears…They aren't pointed." Riku flinches in fear as Link slowly turns his head away from Navi and looks at the side of the boy's head. Riku doesn't even bother trying to hide the difference in shape between the two of their ears, because there would be no point in doing so. And as Link's eyes widen in surprise upon noticing this very eminent difference between himself and the boy, Riku knows then and there that he would have no choice but to reveal to the Hylian that he was not from this world.

"…Ma'am, I know this is your house and all, and I really appreciate you allowing me to rest here for as short of a time as you did, but is it possible for you to go outside for a few minutes so we can speak alone?" Riku politely asks the house owner, who turns away from the fireplace that she was standing in front of with a surprised look on her face until she notices the concern radiating from Link's eyes and decides that it would be for the best if she didn't involve herself in these affairs for the moment. "Why certainly child, I'll leave you two be. I had to go visit someone right now anyways." The lady makes up a destination point for herself to be, fooling neither hero as she turns around and retreats out the door. After Link sees the lady off, he turns around and faces Riku, asking in a concerned yet slightly curious tone "Alright, so what's up kid?"

"Well, I guess you know now that I'm not a Hylian…" The teenage Overlord says as a prelude to his explanation, but before he goes any further Link nods his head and inquires "So what are you? You are too old to be a Kokiri, too pale to be a Gerudo, and too plain appearance wise to be a Shiekah…" "Well its physically impossible for me to be any of those things because I wasn't born in this world. I'm a human, and I came here from a far off planet called Earth." Naturally, the mention of another planet greatly confused Link, who thus far had only dealt with affairs related to his world and never knew anything about other worlds beyond his own. The green tunic Hylian blinked his eyelids a few times, deep down he tried his hardest to comprehend what this mysterious boy had said to him.

"You really don't need to try and think about it too much, and I don't need to explain interplanetary travel to you to tell you just why I'm here…" Riku's remark about his confusion caused Link to instantly snap out of it as he lifted his head up slightly and said to the boy "Oh yeah! That's right, I asked you what you were doing in Hyrule Castle Town…Well, what's left of it anyways. So, think you can tell me now?" Link was gently edging Riku on to answer his question, the man's mature tone telling the teenage Overlord that he didn't HAVE to reveal the truth about his identity, especially with the discomfort that he was currently feeling due to what happened with Ganondorf. As the period of hesitation for Riku continued along, Link's anticipating expression slowly fades away and he says to the boy "Look, there's no need to rush this. For now, I'm just glad to know that I managed to rescue someone today…"

As his sentence neared its end, Link's eyelids sagged down slightly to show that there is a bit of guilt on his mind at the moment, for reasons that Riku could only hope to guess at. However, the brief glimmer of sadness in Link's pupils caused the teenage Overlord to open his mouth and quickly explain himself to the man "There's a bit of a long story behind it, but to abridge it for the sake of avoiding further confusion…" Once Link turns his head back around to assure the boy that his attention is focused on him, Riku continues onwards "My name is Riku Mew, I'm an Elemental Overlord, a being that is capable of controlling every element you can think of from Fire to the very plants around us. As an Elemental Overlord, I find that its my duty to help out other worlds who need it…I actually didn't know that this world was in trouble, I just flew down through the planet's atmosphere and arrived in the ruined Castle Town…Where I was then knocked unconscious by the ReDeads moans and you know what happened from there on out. Still, from what little I saw, I can tell that this planet needs a hero's help…"

"You aren't wrong there." Link says when its clear that Riku was done explaining himself to him, though he did take a momentary pause to question in his mind the legitimacy of the last sentence. "I guess I should explain myself to you now, huh?" The green tunic Hylian asks in regards to his own purpose in being here. Though Riku knows the truth in regards to Link's life up until whatever point in this world's history it is, the teenage Overlord still couldn't allow him to know anything about his own knowledge. So with a confirming nod of the head while keeping a neutral expression, Riku sat still as Link presses his hands gently against his legs and sat straight up so his back leaned against the edge of the table, and with a natural, mature expression the Hylian said to the boy "Alright, where do I begin…"

"Oh, right. It all started seven years ago, when I still lived in the Kokiri Village that existed beyond the Lost Woods. At the time, I was the only child who didn't have a fairy, and was always being mocked for it. Sure that got me down at times, but I always had my best friend Saria around to help lift my spirits right up with the help of some tunes from her Fairy Ocarina. Anyways, one day the Great Deku Tree called me to him through his aide, Navi, who you've already become acquainted with. With his body having been invaded by a Queen Gohma, the Great Deku tasked me with going inside and slaying the insect, after which he ended up perishing anyways from too much internal damage…But not before he gave me the Kokiri Emerald and once again tasked me to head to Hyrule to stop the rise of a great evil.

I traveled across the land, reaching Hyrule Castle and sneaking past the guards to meet Princess Zelda, who spoke of a dream she had about a man named Ganondorf, who was currently faking fealty to her father, the king. After showing her the Emerald, she suggested that I help her acquire the other two Spiritual Stones in order to open the way to the Temple of Time and stop Ganondorf before it was too late. So after going to Goron City and Zora Domain, I got the Goron Ruby and Zora Sapphire and made my way back to Hyrule Castle Town, only to watch as Zelda and her aide Impa ran off with Ganondorf in hot pursuit of Zelda and her family's Ocarina of Time. However, on her way out, Zelda dropped the Ocarina into the nearby moat and I picked it up…

With a message given to me via magic, Zelda told me to take the stones into the Temple of Time and play the Song of Time in order to open the way to the Triforce, which I needed to acquire to stop Ganondorf's plans. However, when I entered the room beyond the Door of Time, I only found a single, peerless sword resting atop a stone altar. Feeling drawn to the sword, I pulled it out and was immediately overcome with a beam of light…And the next thing I know, I was mocked by Ganondorf as he made his way towards the resting place of the Triforce, the Sacred Realm. I fell unconscious, only to be awakened in the Sacred Realm itself by the Sage of Light, Rauru. However, when I awoke I wasn't the same as I was when I pulled the sword…

With seven years having passed, I had become older, because that's the only way the Master Sword would have accepted me as its wielder, according to Rauru…But during the seven years that I was gone from Hyrule, Ganondorf gained control of the land with the help of the Triforce, turning the Castle Town into a barren wasteland while spreading his evil across the rest of the land. Rauru told me that there was only one way to stop the King of Evil, and that was with the evil-slaying blade, the Master Sword. As the Hero of Time, it was my duty to stop Ganondorf before Hyrule truly falls into darkness. However, it wasn't going to be as simple as heading to his castle and confronting him head-on…

Rauru explained to me that to be able to fight Ganondorf, I needed to reawaken the six sages of the Sacred Realm and bring their medallions to his castle, and after explaining that each one was located in a different part of Hyrule waiting to be freed from Ganondorf's evil influence he gave me the Light Medallion. So as it went, the first sage, the Sage of the Forest, resided in the Forest Temple just beyond the northern edge of the Lost Woods, and I had to make a trip through Kokiri Village in order to make it there…At the central room on the bottom floor of the temple, I fought and defeat Ganondorf's phantom and freed the Forest Sage, Sa-….Then I arrived in front of the decaying Great Deku Tree and meet the sprout that would eventually grow up and replace him…And he then proceeded to tell me the truth passed down from his predecessor, that I was actually a Hylian and all the Kokiri never aged, thus explaining to me just why I am now an adult while everyone else looks exactly the same as they did seven years ago…"

"After that I left Kokiri Village without saying a word to anyone since they wouldn't recognize me, and made my way towards Kakariko Village since I figured the Sage of Fire would be somewhere near Death Mountain…And that's when I found you." With Link's story complete, the Hylian gestures towards Riku as the teenage Overlord's eyelids sink down slightly after noting the slight hesitation in Link's voice as he reached the identity of the Sage of the Forest, Saria. "I guess Link is having a hard time containing his sadness over meeting and losing Saria again after she had not seen him for seven years, while for him…It had only been an instant at the very least." Riku thought to himself, after which he opened his mouth with an empathetic smile on his face and he said "I see…So after seeing what Ganondorf did to the place you once called your home, you are really determined to stop him, aren't you?"

Link lifted his head up upon hearing Riku's inquiry, and with a nod the man gestured and said in response "Its not just because of Kokiri Village…Zelda is missing, more than likely still on the run from Ganondorf, Hyrule Castle Town is pretty much gone, and though everyone seems to have set up a new community around here I can tell that all of them won't truly be happy until Ganondorf is gone…Its partially my fault that the King of Evil even came to be in the first place, so if I can do something to stop him now, then that will more than owe up for my young, foolish mistake…" Link explains his reasoning rather maturely, which makes Riku both happy yet saddened for differing reasons.

"Poor Link…The circumstances forced him to mature in order to combat a world much darker than the one he left behind seven years ago, but even then he hasn't fully left his childhood behind…Navi's existence alongside the brief mention of the Fairy Ocarina proves that." After Riku expresses his analysis of Link's character inside of his head, he looks at the Hero of Time and says to him "Link…Allow me to assist you in your journey to defeat Ganondorf." Link raises his head up in quick surprise, his eyes widening as he insistently shakes his head and replies to Riku's politely spoken request "No no, you don't need to help out. You don't have any personal reason to fight Ganondorf…"

"…That's, not all the way true." Riku reluctantly admits. "Huh?" Link says out of confusion. "While its not personal, I do have a reason to fight Ganondorf…Again, anyways." The Hero of Time goes completely silent after hearing the teenage Overlord's admission towards fighting the King of Evil once before, but instead of commenting on it himself he opts to hear the boy out and with insistence he says "…Go on." "You see, I didn't get knocked unconscious by ReDeads…When I arrived in the ruins of Castle Town, Ganondorf came down and confronted me…He won, rather thoroughly actually since I was unable to do anything about his Triforce of Power because of a miscommunication between myself and my weapon…But upon defeating me, Ganondorf ripped something right out of me and absorbed it inside of himself to become stronger."

"…Figures that there was more to the story than what you were letting on. What you said about ReDeads knocking you unconscious gave it away. But still, Ganondorf is now more powerful than he was before?" Link asks, to which Riku responds by nodding his head. "Honestly, I have plenty of faith behind me that you could have taken Ganondorf by yourself if he was as he was beforehand…But because of my mistake, I truly believe it would be for the best if you let me help you out in confronting him, especially since I might be able to regain what was stolen from me with the help of your Master Sword." Riku points towards the handle sticking out from behind Link's left shoulder, and after the Hero of Time glances back at the sheath that held the Master Sword he looks at the teenage Overlord and says after more than enough consideration "Alright then."

"Huh?" Riku said, failing to understanding what the Hero of Time was getting at because of how short the reply was. "We both have a reason to stop Ganondorf, and I honestly have no reason to believe that you are one of his agents. So yeah, what do you say we work together and save Hyrule?" Link says happily while extending his right hand out towards the teenage Overlord. Expecting a shake to seal the deal between the two, Link smiles slightly as Riku thinks to himself "Well, looks like I've earned Link's trust…" "Alright Link, I know that together, we can stop Ganondorf once and for all!" With that said, Riku thrusts his right hand out to shake Link's, and thus the two heroes create a vow between themselves to save this world from its looming monarch…

So after making the bed that he had been lying in, Riku thanked the house owner for her brief hospitality, and the two heroes trekked up the nearby staircase to make their way through the gate out of the village that would lead them to Death Mountain, where the Sage of Fire awaited rescue…

_Next Time: The Empty City_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Onward to Death Mountain**

After departing from Kakariko Village, which Riku sadly had no chance to walk around at the moment due to the urgency of his and Link's mission, the two heroes made their way up the inclined valley that connected the village with the perilous Death Mountain. The teenage Overlord followed a few feet behind the stern Hero of Time with his eyes glancing up towards the ring of cloudy fire that still encircled the top of the volcano. There was something a bit different about it though compared to his previous examination. The ring flared up brightly every couple of seconds, with a few flames lashing out past the circumference of the edge for reasons unknown. "…Has Ganondorf's evil across the land grown stronger because of my mistake?" Riku thinks to himself as he keeps looking at the volcano until the stone walls become high enough that its impossible to see anything beyond the winding pathway.

The teenage Overlord thus looks back down and picks up his pace a bit since he had lost some distance between himself and Link. The Hero of Time had been rather silent up since they left the house, and unbeknownst to Riku his eyes were currently arched downward to show an intense sense of focus as he moved his arms back and forth alternatively in a determined manner. "Hey Link, something on your mind?" Riku decided to ask in order to break the silence between the two of them, which manages to work out spectacularly as Link pauses in place and quickly turns himself around to face his new ally. His expression becomes a bit more relaxed, though there is still a hint of concern in the way his lips were currently positioned.

Riku had to look up a bit to stare at Link, because while they were on even footing at the moment the Hero of Time was a few inches taller than him thanks to the few years difference in age between them both. "Yeah, there is actually. When I came here before and got the Goron Ruby, the Goron Leader, Darunia, chose to call me his 'brother' because I gave them back their food supply by stopping the King Dodongo…" Link turned around for a moment and continued his sentence as he placed his right hand on the nearby wall and said "Well, I heard from some of the villagers that Ganondorf has been having Gorons sacrificed at Death Mountain in order to established his reign over them, so I'm just hoping that when we get to Goron City, Darunia will still be there…"

Link moves his hand away from the wall and turns back to face Riku, and though it wasn't obvious the teenage Overlord thought it was right to suspect that the Hero of Time was trying to keep a brave face by not showing him the sadness in his eyes as he thought about Darunia. "I wouldn't worry about it Link. From what I heard, Gorons are a very resilient race, and as the leader Darunia has to be the most resilient of them all. He'll still be alive, just you wait and-" As Riku nears the end of his sentence, he slowly tilts his head to the left with his words coming out slower and a curious glimmer being visible in his eyes. He catches a brief glimpse of a hard, red-shelled bug with four yellowish-green, spiked legs hopping across the ground with its restless crimson eye focusing entirely on its seemingly unaware prey.

Thinking that Link had no idea of the Red Tektite's approach, Riku moved his body two steps to the left and swung his right arm out ready to draw his sword as the bug leaped forward, only for Link to grasp the handle of the Master Sword with finesse and turn his body around while unsheathing his blade right as he reaches a point where his blade will fail to nick even a hair on Riku's head, and with one precise strike heralded by a courageous grunt the tip of the sword scraped the front of the Tektite's fleshy eye and created a cut so wide that blood and viscera leaked out as the creature's momentum swiftly ceased and it fell unto the ground with its legs falling off unexplainably.

As Link stood still with his sword held out and the tip pointed against the side of the wall, Riku can't help but be stunned as he looks at the Master Sword and notices how not a single drop of blood or viscera has managed to taint the blade. It was a beautiful sight to behold for the few seconds that the sword was around, as the Hero of Time quickly held his arm above his head, spun the sword around with one hand, and sheathed it without so much as a word spoken through his lips. It was only after Riku composed himself and Link turned back around that the Hylian said "We are definitely getting close to the main part of Death Mountain if Tektites are showing up…Lets keep on our guard until we reach Goron City, alright?" The Hero of Time spoke in a calm yet kind and authoritative tone of voice. It was clear that he was a bit concerned for Riku's safety, especially since he didn't react to the Tektite as swiftly as Link did.

Or at least, that's how Riku interpreted Link's words. It made sense as to why he said it though, since the teenage Overlord was too focused on the conversation with Link to react in time to the Tektite's appearance. Sure it was only a simple bug, but the two of them couldn't afford to be off-guard in this territory that was unfamiliar to Link. "Can't let my knowledge of this world lead me to blindly assume that I'll know how to react to everything that comes our way…I made that mistake once before with Ganondorf, and I can't afford to do it again." Riku thinks to himself as he follows behind Link's footsteps, as he then proceeded to think about the fact that the Hero of Time knew nothing about how his powers operated.

"…" Riku wanted to open his mouth and say something, but as his lips split apart from each other and his tongue poked out slightly he bit down gently on the tip and retracted his thoughts since it would help show Link that he was focused on their current journey. Perhaps at a later time when they don't have to deal with low-tier monsters and simple pathways, Riku will have a chance to show the Hero of Time just what he is capable of doing. After making their way around a sharp corner, the two heroes finally managed to glimpse back up at the raging Death Mountain, their eyes briefly focused on the circular ring of fire until the ground began to tremble to some extent beneath their feet.

A look forward revealed a massive, rigid boulder rolling its way down the pathway with the only thing stopping it for even a second being the harder boulders that are planted into the ground. The rolling boulder moves closer by moving around the smaller ones, with a Tektite getting crushed along the way as it gets closer to the heroes. Link instinctively arches his eyebrows and draws his shield by dipping his left hand into the braces and pulling it out in front of him. He then moves towards the closest boulder and ducks down with his back turned towards it, his head glancing over his left shoulder as the massive of rolling earth gets closer to them. "Hold out behind one of these boulders until this passes…" Link suggests as he adjusts his shield so the top is pointed towards him at an angle, his arm bracing it against his body while Riku merely looks towards the boulder and holds his arms out in front of himself while closing his eyelids to increase his focus on the rolling mass.

With Link paying full attention to the boulder as it approaches, he has no idea about Riku's actions nor anything about the fact that his ally isn't kneeling down beside him. He only pays attention to the slowly increasing intensity of the tremors, making certain to keep his shield braced in case the boulder cracks through the rock behind and forces him to defend against it. The teenage Overlord, on the other hand, has none of those worries on his mind as he latches onto the rolling boulder with hundreds of mental "strings" and begins to slowly move his hands into the air to lift the boulder up off the ground, which immediately stops the gentle tremors much to Link's surprise. The shadow of the boulder looms over the Hero of Time's head, causing him to glance up and watch as without so much as an effort expended, Riku tosses the boulder through the air behind him as his arms swing above his head. The boulder flies and falls down into the thankfully uninhabited mesa of trees behind them with a crash that launches up a small cloud of dirt.

Link catches a glimpse of Riku's display of power as he stands up and puts his shield away for the time being, and as the teenage Overlord opens his eyelids, raises his head, and lowers his arms beside himself he is greeted by the Hero of Time saying "Wow…That was rather impressive. How hard was that for you to do?" He speaks in a very awed tone of voice towards his ally, which causes Riku to grin yet state with honesty "Its not that hard really, that boulder was rather small." Link nods his head, understanding what the teenage Overlord was getting at before feeling another tremor behind him and turning around to notice another boulder rolling down their way. With a gesture of his right hand and a turn of his head, Link said to his ally "Well, if you wouldn't mind…" Knowing what he was about to suggest though, Riku preemptively nodded his head and said "Not a problem, I'll help clear the way for us."

And clear the way he did, for as the two heroes traversed the continuous inclines of Death Mountain Riku used his powers to lift up and toss away any boulders that came their way, making sure to land them precisely where they wouldn't disrupt the wildlife while ensuring that the way back down would still be open for the two of them. Once they reached a tall wooden pole with a degrading red cloth flag waving around at the top, the boulders stopped bothering the two and Riku brought his arms back down for the time being while following Link down a pathway that rested off to the right of the nearby hill. After a few seconds of unstopping walking, the two heroes came across a cavern entrance that existed beyond a square platform with a ring of miniature stones on top of it. Link noted to his ally that they had arrived at their destination.

The two passed through the small tunnel entrance beyond the three-step staircase and entered Goron City with Link having high hopes that he'd find Gorons abound, that mostly everything would still be normal in spite of Ganondorf's threats of sacrifice. But upon passing through the darkness inside the tunnel, the Hero of Time was not only greeted by the dimly lit, circular stone domain of the Gorons, but he also witnessed a completely empty expanse where not a single Goron rested on the ground curled up like they were when he had come here seven years ago. Left and right, forward and below, not even one of them could be found on the ground. There was nothing but foreboding silence looming across the city, and as Link walked forward a few steps until the tips of his boots touched down upon the plank of wood in front of him Riku followed him closely behind and knew right off the bat just how hard the Hero of Time had to be taking this.

Link glared down at the center of the bottom floor, his mind replacing the emptiness there with memories of his first visit to this once proud city. He recalled how the resting Gorons grumbled as they uncurled themselves to talk to him, but they did it in a way that sounded habitual instead of expressing annoyance towards his presence. He remembered how he learned to wield bombs, how happy the Gorons were when he allowed them to safely return to Dodongo Caverns to get their food, and most importantly he recalled the bond he formed with their leader in his own throne room…As these memories fades away like a resounding blur, the Hero of Time takes his right hand and clenches it so tightly into the shape of a fist that Riku can hear the quiet cracking of his bones.

"Link…I-I'm so sorry that-" The teenage Overlord tries to whisper out an empathetic message to calm the Hero of Time down, but before he finishes his eardrums catch wind of something making noise along the ground nearby. The sound grows closer and closer, and its clear that Link notices this interesting facet as well considering his hands loosen and he takes a step onto the wooden board to peak down at the other floors obscured by the rim of the wall below his left foot. Before the Hero of Time sees anything though, the sound begins to fade away, signifying that whatever is causing it is moving away…Only for the noise to grow louder again to show that it is returning for another round. Link automatically determines that something is moving about on the circular floors instead of the tunnels and steps connecting the two, so with his eyes focused on the floor directly below him the Hero of Time was joined by Riku in seeking out whoever is making a commotion in the city.

Riku opts to stand at the edge of the ground though instead of on the middle of the wooden board like Link is, but his focus remains in the same general area as his green tunic wearing companion. Eventually, the two heroes catch a small, rolling mass of rocky flesh making its way out of an underpass in the back of the second floor. Link's eyes widen out of joy upon recognizing that, and though Riku is unsurprised by the creature's appearance he is very relieved to see the Hero of Time finding renewed faith in the other Goron's survival upon seeing this youngling rolling about. "Alright, we are going to have to disrupt the Goron's movements to get his attention, since at the speed its going it'll be making enough noise to deafen everything else around him." Link advises Riku as he scans the second floor for anything that might be useful for assisting their cause.

The Hero of Time quickly notices two green-leaved plants with shiny bulbous orbs planted in the center of them and says after gesturing towards them with a brandished right finger "Riku, you keep an eye on the Goron kid while I pick up a Bomb from that nearby plant to use on him." Link says, and with a little grin Riku jests to the Hero of Time as he leaps down onto the second floor "Isn't that a little extreme?" Using a tone so innocent yet concerned that Link doesn't suspect that Riku knows what he is up to here, the teenage Overlord then jumps down onto the second floor as the kid Goron whirs on by him and he gazes upon him with his body moving back slightly in surprise. "Don't worry, Gorons are known for their durability, even as kids. One bomb will just shake him up a bit, but not cause any serious harm." Link replies kindly.

Then, the Hero of Time quickly puts his knowledge to good use as he rushes towards the nearby Bomb Plant. With Navi coming out and circling around it while turning green, Link bends down with the hands of his gloves cupping themselves around the bomb itself and with a little muscle work he plucks the bomb from its rooted domain and hears the fuse be lit by its own accord as he turns towards the underpass and glances to the right to see that Riku is gazing towards the opposite side. Having taken note of how long a bomb takes to detonate along with the speed of the Goron, Link throws the bomb in a perfect arc through the air so it lands on the ground far enough away from him that he won't be hit when it goes off. The fuse burns shorter with each passing second until it nears the end, at which point the bomb changes from black to red and begins to expand and condense rapidly, the span between the two decreasing as it nears the proper explosion point.

Link stands still and waits patiently for the bomb's explosion as the Goron kid rolls closer to it without any sense of awareness towards its presence. The Hero of Time doesn't even bother to pull out his shield, though Riku readies his right hand in case the explosion turns out to be larger than expected. However, that proves to be a worthless concern at the moment, for the bomb goes off with an explosive radius roughly double the size of the Goron itself, engulfing it and hitting it with enough force to completely halt his roll right then and there. The entire floor rumbles a bit from the external blast, but otherwise the bomb barely does anything more than crack the ground below where it went off. Having been stopped, the kid slowly begins to uncurl himself from his spherical form while releasing a younger yet braver sounding grunt than the rest of his kind, and as he rises from his sitting position he turns towards the mysterious green tunic man and says with his eyelids arched in anger "How could you do this to me?!"

When the Goron stands up all the way, Riku is surprised to note that for a youngling, the stony creature was roughly the same height as he was, though he was the only one surprised by this seeing as Link already probably felt overwhelmed by their size when he was younger. The Goron Kid, having become flustered due to this elven-eared man's presence, stares bravely into his eyes and with an absolute refusal to look away he proclaims "You…You're one of Ganondorf's servants, aren't you?!" Link was taken completely aback by the Goron Kid's out of the blue proclamation, his eyes widening curiously in surprise as he shook his hands around in front of his chest and tried to say to him "Now hold on a second there kid, I'm-"

But with a tone of innocent brazenness, the Goron Kid merely pointed at the Hylian and declared to him "Well I won't let you take me! Hear my name and tremble! I am Link! Hero of the Gorons!" Link's body becomes entirely stiff save for his rising eyelids and shrinking pupils upon hearing the name of this kid, with his heart actually skipping a beat out of pure shock as everything becomes quiet for a few moments for him alone. Riku's reaction towards the name is a bit more unsurprised, as usual for him, but he worried a bit about Link's current predicament when the Goron kid did something he didn't expect and said to the Hero of Time "For my father and everyone else you've taken away, this is my vengeance!" Link the Goron took his right fist and readied himself to strike Link the Hylian down with one blow, with light tears visibly coming out of his eyes as he grit his teeth and stared at his enemy with a ferocity that one would never suspect could have ever come from such a peaceful race.

But as peaceful as they were, Riku knew far too well just how strong Gorons were. With enough strength within their arms to crumble a boulder roughly ten times their own size, the teenage Overlord figured if that kid struck Link right now, the Hero of Time either would die as the Goron wished to happy, or he would be left with a very fractured rib cage. Both options were very unpleasant to think about, and the outcomes motivated Riku to dash forward like a blur across the ground until he reappeared between Link the Goron and the Hero of Time, with Link the Hylian snapping out of his shock upon feeling the breeze from his ally's dash grazing his face. This very same dash managed to catch the Goron kid off guard, and while he had time to do so Riku said "Kid, hold off on your punch there, there's been a huge misunderstanding here." He was firm, yet still tried to maintain an air of peace around him so the kid didn't feel threatened.

With Link having recovered from his prior moment of surprise, the Hero of Time patted Riku on his right shoulder in order to politely ask him to step aside so he could handle this from here on out. As the teenage Overlord got the hint and moved out of the way, Link quietly turned his head and slipped forth a word of thanks to his ally for coming in to defend him even if it was briefly. The Hero of Time then faced the Goron that shared his name, and with a calming air around him Link the Hylian said with great tact and maturity "Don't worry…We're your allies, not your enemies. Allow me to introduce myself…" The Hero of Time extends his right hand out to the Goron kid while ending his sentence off with a mention of his name "My name…Is also Link."

With that, the kid's tension and animosity towards the two heroes begins to fade away after his eyes briefly widen in shock much like Link the Hylian's did. The Goron kid then unfurled his fist and repositioned his body so he stood straight up once more, though his arms rested limply beside him as he stuttered out through his thin, dirty lips "Y-Your name is also Link?" After that, much like the green tunic Hylian, the Goron kid slipped away from his state of surprise, but he ended up moving on to a different type of emotion. His eyes glimmered in awe, his lips began to curl up into a smile, and in general his expression became more hopeful as he stated with pure bliss "Then you must be the legendary Dodongo Buster and Hero, Link!"

Link the Hylian nodded his head as Riku watched leaning against the nearby wall with a smile on his face as Link the Goron's eyelids shut and his smile widened even more. "I can't believe I get to meet you in person like this!" The child couldn't have sounded more ecstatic even if he tried, and if it wasn't for his own girth he could have started hopping up and down at any moment. As the kid continued to show joy over meeting the man he was named after, Link snaps back to a comment made by the kid just a short while ago, and with a curious expression on his face he asks "Say Link, you said something about your father earlier…Who is he, exactly?" From the way the Hero of Time spoke, Riku had a feeling that he already has an idea as to who the father of this Goron kid is, but with the reveal about to occur the teenage Overlord continued to stay silent but nonetheless kept a smile on his face.

"My dad is Darunia…Do you remember him?" The Goron happily answered Link. The Hero of Time is shocked by this news, but not as much as he was when he learned this kid's name since with this he at least had a feeling in his gut that this Goron was Darunia's son. The resemblance was uncanny, after all. "Yeah, I couldn't possibly ever forget him…" Link responded, his sentence taking the form of a lie in Riku's eyes due to the fact that, in a way, the Hero of Time had last seen Darunia a few days ago. Still, to the Goron kid, he saw the reply as a respectful gesture towards his father, and with a thankful nod of his head he proceeded to say "Hehe, Dad named me Link after because of how inspiring he found your bravery to be. It's a cool name, and I really, really like it!"

The Goron's enthusiasm was immeasurable, so much in fact that it was hard to believe that such an innocent sounding child was ready to aggressively strike down the man he was named after, the reasoning behind such behavior being something that the two heroes needed to figure out soon. "Please…Can I have your autograph?! Just sign it: 'To my friend, Link of the Gorons'" With the kid's enthusiastic request causing Link the Hylian to turn his head back around to face the Goron after nodding towards Riku, the Hero of Time was ready to ask what happened to the rest of the Gorons when he suddenly notices the kid get a rather melancholy look in his eyes, which turns out to be a prelude to his next sentence as he says "…Oh, I guess its not a good time to ask you for this…Please, you have to help everyone!"

With the Goron kid expressing great urgency towards the two heroes, both Link and Riku stayed silent for a moment while the Hylian nods his head so the kid can keep talking to them about the situation here. "My dad, Darunia, went to the Fire Temple. A dragon is inside! If we don't hurry, everyone, e-even my dad, will be eaten by the dragon!" At the end of his sentence, the Goron kid's mind becomes consumed with depressing thoughts and tears start to trickle out of his eyes. With a melancholy cry, Link the Goron leans his head forward and begins to try and rub the tears away with his hands as he continues to cry. As the Goron kid cries without end, Navi emerges from Link and floats around his friend while pointing out to him "You'd better try to calm him down if you can Link…Maybe if you talk to him about the Fire Temple and the dragon, he'll calm down…"

Agreeing with Navi's sentiment, Link nods his head and with a comforting voice he asks the Goron named after him "What is this about a dragon?" Sniffling in a rather rough manner, Link the Goron moved his hands away from his face and responded to the Hero of Time with an at first stuttered "A-A long time ago there was an evil dragon named Volvagia living in this mountain. T-That dragon was very scary…He ate Gorons!" With that sentence, Link managed to get an answer in regards to just how the Gorons were being sacrificed in Ganondorf's name, and though the very thought of such an act going down unpunished disturbed the Hero of Time he asked the Goron kid to continue. Link the Goron continued to speak from this point on in a more natural if still somewhat saddened tone of voice.

"Anyways…Using a huge hammer, the hero of the Gorons…BOOOM! Destroyed it just like that. I know this sounds like a myth from long ago, but it's true!" And considering everything that Link knows as of now, the Hero of Time had no reason to doubt that. "I know, because my dad is a…is a descendant of that hero!" Link the Goron begins crying again almost immediately after thinking about his father, but Link the Hylian quickly reacts to that change in emotions and asks him while he has the chance to "…So what happened to all the Gorons? There's no way they have all been eaten, right?" "N-No…" The Goron kid murmurs out while regaining his composure. "Everyone…Was taken away to the Fire Temple…While my dad was out…Ganondorf's followers came and took them all away! All of them will be eaten by Volvagia! Dad said that Ganondorf revived that dragon as a warning to everyone who might still want to oppose him…So it won't be just the Gorons that might get eaten by Volvagia, but other people as well! Dad went to the Fire Temple all by himself to try and save everyone, but without the hero's hammer I can't imagine even my father managing to last long against that dragon…Please Link, you have to help us!"

The Hero of Time, even after hearing how strong this Volvagia creature sounded, didn't even bat an eye at the prospect of going to the Fire Temple to save the Gorons, and with a brave look in his eyes Link the Hylian said to the kid "I could never say no, Link. I'll go to the Fire Temple and stop Volvagia, just you wait and see." Link the Goron's eyes lit up excitedly upon hearing this, and with a smile on his face he said "Thank you Link! …Oh! Since you'll be heading to the Fire Temple, you are going to need something to protect you from the heat, so take this tunic made by us Gorons!" After reaching behind himself, the Goron kid pulled out an object from out of nowhere and handed it over to the expectant Link, and as the Hero of Time suddenly turned around and held both of his hands over his head the item appeared twirling above the center point between both palms.

_Link got the __**GORON TUNIC! **__This heat-resistant tunic is adult-sized only…And designed for Hylians only despite being made by Gorons. Huh…Still, for high-temperature travel, there is no better type of clothing! _

Riku batted an eyelid at this event, especially since he could have sworn he heard some sort of tune playing in the air around Link as he acquired the Goron Tunic with a rather unnatural smile on his face. But alas, he doesn't focus on this for long as he hears something moving on the bottom floor of this city. Recognizing the sound as something hard grinding against a rocky surface, the teenage Overlord walks past Link and looks down to see two doors opening up by retracting into the walls beside and above them. "Dad told me not to let anyone follow him to the temple, but…I know that you are the only one who can save everyone, Link! Before you go though, let me tell you about the secret passage that leads directly to the Fire Temple! To get there, try and move the giant statue in my Dad's room!"

Giving his advice to his Hylian counterpart, Link the Goron was met with a smile and nod of the head from the Hero of Time as he turned back around with the Goron Tunic laying down on his arms. "Thank you for your help Link. I'll bring your father and everyone back here in due time, just you wait and see." Giving his promise to the son of Darunia, Link looked around the area and then said to both Link the Goron and Riku "Give me a moment though, I'm going to head to the underpass and change into this new tunic." Understanding that the Hero of Time needed his privacy, Riku and the Goron complied to his wishes and merely stood in place as he went away and quickly changed into the red, heat-resistant tunic. He emerged back out in a matter of seconds, but to Riku's surprised he was wearing a red cap that replaced his green one rather quickly.

"Where did you find that cap?" The teenage Overlord asked his ally. "It was tucked inside of the tunic, surprisingly." The Hero of Time responds with a simple answer. Riku turns his body around all the way and smiles while gesturing out with his right hand "Fair enough. Then I guess we are ready to move on?" Glancing over to his Goron counterpart one last time, Link then looks back at Riku and gains a brave expression as he says firmly "Yeah, we have no time to waste." Bidding farewell to the Goron kid, the two heroes leaped down to the bottom floor, and after bracing themselves after the impact Link guided Riku to the back tunnel where Darunia's room lied beyond. Before entering though, the Hero of Time thought of something rather important "Hey Riku, what are you going to do about the heat inside of the Fire Temple?"

The question caught Riku off guard for a moment, but he quickly answered the question after Link turns around to face him with "I don't need to wear a heat-resistant tunic like you, if that's what you are thinking about…My powers protect me from high-temperature locations." "Alright, just wanted to make sure." Link says in such a way that confirms to the teenage Overlord that he had already suspected such an answer before he even asked. "By the way, why didn't you say anything while I was talking to Darunia's son?" The Hero of Time then asked with a curious glimmer in his eyes. "When the kid mentioned his name and who his dad was, I knew that it would be for the best if I butted out and let you handle it on your own, seeing how personal it was for you and all."

"Makes sense. Thanks for doing that." With the gleaming smile on Link's face, the teenage Overlord believes that he has earned a little more of the Hero of Time's respect for keeping quiet when necessary. With nothing else to say, the two heroes made their way into Darunia's room. It was a quaint, square room that was brighter than the rest of the city thanks to the two pillar torches in the back of the room. There was a large Goron symbol resting on both the left and right walls, while two ropes with nine cloths attached to each hung from the corner between the ceiling and walls. There were two rugs etched into the ground, one large one in the center of room and a small one resting in front of a large rectangular statue that depicted a very grumpy looking Goron staring across the room.

Right after entering this room, Link thinks back to the day he met Darunia, when he stood bravely before the imposing Goron and pulled out his Fairy Ocarina to play Saria's Song to him, and the imposing rock man quickly became a jolly good dancer in the blink of an eye…That was when the two of them had created a bond, even if the Hero of Time did not know it yet. Those memories fade away like a cloud of dust, and Link quietly moves towards the statue after that momentary pause and wraps his fingers around the front of it. With great effort and strength, the Hero of Time begins to drag the statue backwards across the ground, the bottom scraping and permanently streaking the floor until he stops it on top of the small rug. Standing right back up despite the sweat dripping from his face suggesting that it really exhausted him to pull that statue, Link turns his head towards Riku and says to him "Lets be careful, we don't know what awaits us behind this passage…" And with that fair warning, the two heroes made their way through the passageway behind the statue, ready to head to the Fire Temple and save the Gorons from their imprisonment…

_Next Time: The Mysterious Shiek…_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Bolero of Fire I: The Shiekah and the Goron King**

The heroes, after a few seconds of travel through the dark passageway hidden inside of Goron City, find themselves encountering a change in the atmosphere around them. Though the heat doesn't affect either of them because of the garb one wears and the powers another has, they can see the air becoming more wavy due to the current of heat rising and moving around them from afar. The environment becomes brighter with a slight crimson hue being applied to their bodies as they move forward out of the tunnel and arrive in a very moisture deprived lava pit where the rocky platform they currently stand on is filled to the brim with cracks. Though oddly enough, despite what the temperature in this area likely had to be, there was a wooden bridge suspended over the lava to the right of them.

"I would assume that the tunic is working for you, right?" Riku asks Link as he keeps his head turned towards the wooden bridge with a curious eyebrow raised upon noticing the boulders spread around the platform beyond it. "Yeah, I don't feel any warmer than I did before coming here…" The Hero of Time promptly replies. "Well that's a relief." Riku says in turn. The teenage Overlord turns back around and thinks about the environment around him for a moment. While it was true that he wasn't affected by the insufferable temperatures radiating from this lava pit, the heat still affected Riku in a vastly different way than one would expect. His body felt an all too natural warmth rising up inside his chest, as if a flame was burning brightly inside of him at this very moment. As of now, the teenage Overlord had become one with the heat itself.

"Say, doesn't this place look rather familiar to you?" Link brusquely interrupts his ally's rather serene thoughts so he can direct his attention towards the sky where his right finger is currently pointed at. From the sharp tips of two stone shapeless pillars submerged into the lava emerged expanding plumes of toxic smoke, which rise up past the edge of the pit's walls and violently lash outward in all directions, seemingly merging together to form a ring beyond the glimpse of the two heroes' eyes. There was a gruesome appearance to the smoke thanks many in part to the orange-red shade it has from the glow of the lava below it, and after looking around the room for a moment while thinking of the pathway the two traveled and how big the full moon looked in the dark-blue sky at this moment Riku realized just where they were.

"We're inside Death Mountain…" He says, mirroring Link's thoughts in vocal form so perfectly that Link is surprised by it yet does little to comment on the matter. "That means the abnormal color of the ring above the crater is likely because of Volvagia's revival…" The Hero of Time suggests, to which Riku ends up agreeing with using a simple nod of his head. Having now figured out where they are, Link walks forward and tries to get a better outlook on the area close to the platform's edge. He wanted to find something that closely resembled a temple's entrance, but if he couldn't succeed on that end then the next best thing would be to look out for a hexagon shaped stone platform with the symbol of the Triforce on it and a grey outline of the medallion owned by the Fire Sage.

Link looked back and forth across the crater of Death Mountain twice, with Riku joining him by his side a moment later with the intentions of the Hero of Time determined just from a quick look at his face and movements. "Find anything?" He asks, and the Hero of Time responds without changing his expression or facial position "Possibly…" Link's face freezes in place as it is turned fifty degrees to the left, and after pulling his head back up and fixing his broken posture the Hylian says to his ally "See those two stone pillars off in the distance?" With a slight gesture towards where he was looking at, Link waits as Riku glances over past the broken bridge at the edge of the platform and notices a stone bridge surrounded by two stone pillars connected to a strangely composed brick platform protruding from a flaming brimstone maw. On that very platform is a thick doorway made entirely out of perfectly cubed red stones.

"You think that's the entrance to the Fire Temple?" Riku asks after opening his eyelids back up and reeling his head back. "Its our best bet for the time being. Lets try and get over there so we can have a better look at it…" With that, Link bravely walks towards the edge of the broken bridge nearby and looks across the lava pit while Riku says concernedly "But Link, with the bridge out I don't think you-" Before he even gets a chance to respond, the Hero of Time has already analyzed his options and quickly reaches into his Goron Tunic to pull out a blue device with a triangular metal handle that he is able to wrap his fingers around lightly as he suspended it in front of his body and tightens his grip to release the pointed hook at the end straight towards the wooden pole poking conspicuously out of the closer of the two stone pillars.

With a chain connecting the hook to the main device, Link manages to perfectly dig the hook into the wooden pole and after lifting his legs an inch off the ground the Hero of Time lets the device pull him towards the hook itself while using all of his strength to avoid falling off seeing as the chain itself is firm enough to not bend downward in the slightest. After being pulled straight through the air and reconnecting the hook with the rest of his device, Link falls onto the edge of the bridge and puts his Hookshot away without saying a word at first. Stunned at first yet becoming quickly unsurprised expression-wise at what the Hero of Time just did, Riku takes a few steps over to the bridge and watches as Link turns around and looks up at him with a somewhat sorry look in his eyes.

"Whoops, I forgot that you don't have the same items I do. Its not that far of a distance, I can toss you my Hookshot to use real quick if you want Riku." Riku politely raises his right hand into the air and says in response to the Hero of Time's offer "No need Link. I'm not weighed down by a bunch of items like you are, so I'll just try and jump the gap." For a moment, the teenage Overlord can't believe he just said that, especially considering how simple it would be for him to just fly across the gap without so much as a fuss. He took a couple steps back while closing his eyelids nervously and thinking to himself "So why am I hesitating to do that?" While clenching his fists and firmly looking forward ready to run, the teenage Overlord then asked himself "Could it be that my body is reacting to something in the air and thus feels that flying wouldn't work in this situation? …If so, then its probably Ganondorf's doing. Oh well, I have other ways of moving about besides my flight…"

Riku dashes forward after thinking to himself, his feet kicking off the ground and his body being carried across the air by his momentum to cross the gap while Link backs up to give his ally the proper room needed to stick his landing. Without disrupting the structure of the wooden boards composing the remains of the bridge, Riku ends up kneeling down from the recoil of his hard landing with his right hand being planted on the nearest board in order to help support him until he recovers and lifts himself back up to face the Hero of Time with a smile on his face. "See, told you I could do it." Link folds his arms in front of his chest and tilts his head slightly while saying to his ally after releasing a happy sigh "Good job, but if we come across something that you can't simply jump then my prior offer still stands."

Thanking the Hero of Time for his concerns while simultaneously thinking and hoping that he'll be able to use his flight later on to avoid robbing Link of one of his crucial items, Riku then follows Link across the bridge to reach the safety of land beyond. To the right of them Link immediately notices the grey hexagon platform he was thinking about earlier, and quickly walks over to it so he can kneel down in front of it and touch it with the bottom of his right fingers. While examining the sleek, spotless surface of this mysterious platform, the Hero of Time begins to think about someone unbeknownst to Riku. Speaking of the teenage Overlord, he stands in wait a few feet behind the Hero of Time, waiting patiently for him to be ready to continue on his way with his arms folded in front of his chest when suddenly a subdued, masculine voice speaks out from behind the two.

"It is something that grows over time…a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time…" Recognizing the voice, Link stands up and turns around to face the man standing behind Riku at that very moment, and once the Hero of Time walks past him the teenage Overlord turns around and does the same. Standing between the bridge and ground is a man that appeared to be roughly the same age as Link yet was strangely an inch shorter than Riku despite the age gap between them. The mysterious man wore a black and blue sleek ninja garb that was visible across all but his chest, which was wrapped up in dried bandages and a tattered white cloth that had a red eye marked onto it with an interestingly placed bloody teardrop painted hanging from the bottom of it. The man stood confidently on the bridge with his bandaged lower arms segments held outward from the sides of his body, and with a slight glance of his red, only visible eye towards Riku the man quickly looks back at Link. Before he speaks again, the teenage Overlord notices that the man keeps his face suspiciously obscured by a bundled white scarf, another series of bandages wrapped around his scalp, and some bangs of his dirty-blonde hair obscuring his left eye while another extension pokes out and dangles down beside the right of his other eye.

The man, after his eyes and Link's meet while they stand six feet apart, continues to say to the Hero of Time "The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go…This song is dedicated to the power of the heart…Listen carefully, to the Bolero of Fire…" With a graceful reach and draw of his right hand to his pockets, the man pulls out a portable harp that comes equipped with nine perfectly attached strings, and after bracing his left fingers around the bottom of the harp the man closes his eyelids and takes his right fingers towards the strings themselves. As the lava bubbles around theme, the man is undisrupted by the natural sounds around him as he gently moves his fingers across the strings to play a beautiful eight note melody using only three of the strings available to him. His arm pulls away from the harp gracefully in order to let the calm crescendo of the melody linger along the air before he plays it again so meticulously that Riku gets goosebumps just from how impressed he was that the man had mastered the melody.

After hearing the melody twice, Link nods his head and reaches into his tunic to pull out a solid, oval shaped instrument with many holes. This blue instrument was the legendary Ocarina of Time that Link once spoke about to Riku, and as the Hero of Time put his lips against the blowhole and positioned his fingers across the smaller holes ready to play the teenage Overlord looked at the magnificent instrument and was awe-struck by how well-designed it looked in person. Also, despite wanting to say something about the mysterious man, Riku stayed quiet while Link played the exact same notes that were strung on the harp through his Ocarina with such mastery that it was almost hard to believe that this was the first time he had ever done it. After the initial eight-notes, both Link and the stranger played their instruments together to continue the song, their unified melody increasing in volume and pitch until it nears the end, at which point a prolonged note is played that signifies the glorious climax of the melody.

With the song now fully memorized in both mind and soul, Link pulled his now sparkling Ocarina away from his face with a look of slight surprise on him. "Well done, Link…" The man says in subtle, complimenting tone of voice. The Hero of Time puts his Ocarina away, and during the moment that he is distracted with that endeavor the mysterious man turns towards the teenage Overlord and says to him in a cryptic tone "My name is Shiek, I am the last survivor of the Shiekahs…But I know I am right when I say that it is pointless for me to tell you this, Elemental Overlord." Shiek's first comment towards Riku snaps him out of the calm sense of joy he had felt from the melody and instead replaced it with one of pure surprise as he widened his eyes and his mouth became slightly agape. He was at a loss for words, and nothing but concern towards his predicament came to mind as he thought in panic "Crap, how does 'he' know about my identity?"

Sensing the panic coming from within the teenage Overlord's mind simply by glaring into his eyes, Shiek says to him "Do not worry, I will say nothing if you in turn do the same…" What Shiek was saying in regards to 'himself' was about his true identity, which the teenage Overlord already knew yet Link did not, and for everyone's sake it was for the best if nothing was said about it. However, though the man spoke quietly, due to his proximity the Hero of Time heard it and turned his head to face Shiek and say to him in a puzzled tone while one eye glanced over at his ally "Wait, you know Riku?" Changing nothing about his docile expression as he turned to face Link, Shiek said to the Hylian "Link…I'll see you again…" Something was different about Shiek's tone as he spoke that sentence, like there was a bit of underlying regret towards having to leave Link at that moment. Picking up on that, the Hero of Time tries to approach Shiek ready to urge him to stay, only for a wall of fire to suddenly emerge from the ground to cut the two off from each other. Link's change into an expression of surprise is just as swift as Riku's, but Shiek is so stoic upon the fire's appearance that one would have every right to think that this was premeditated by the Shiekah.

As silence creeps across the air save for the crackling fire, Shiek reaches into his pockets and pulls out a small, slightly cracked open oval shaped nut and tosses it against the ground. A flash of light fills the air, blinding both heroes for three seconds. When they get to see again, they find that both Shiek and the wall of fire have vanished, leaving nothing but confusion and a hint of sorrow in Link's eyes as he holds one hand in front of him with his mouth somewhat agape, only for him to say nothing and instead clench the air in front of him before retracting his arm back towards the side of his body. "How does he know who you are?" The Hero of Time asks Riku as he turns around with his eyebrows arched slightly downward.

The teenage Overlord, sensing mass confusion coming from Link's mind, regrettably feels confused himself about Shiek's comment considering how the two had never met before that point in time. With his head hung a bit as he tries to figure out just how he knew his identity, Riku says to the Hero of Time in the meantime "Link…I assure you, I've never met Shiek before in my life. It could be that he was spying on us when we were still at Kakariko Village and he managed to overhear us." "There was only one window in that house, so that's very unlikely…Did Ganondorf ever figure out your identity?" Link's rather strange inquiry was met with Riku's puzzled glare as he lifted his head back up and said "No, I never even gave him a hint. Why?"

Link turns his head and looks up towards the sky for some odd reason while simultaneously releasing a sigh and saying "I know it sounds strange, but despite how much help he's been since I woke up I was thinking that Shiek might be one of Ganondorf's spies." "I doubt that." Riku says reassuringly, his eyelids closing as he tilts his head and gestures towards the air beside him. "He may have a mysterious air around him, but I can tell that he's a good person." The teenage Overlord knew it was perfectly fine to use his knowledge to reassure Link about Shiek's true character, an effort that seems to have worked fine as the Hero of Time turns his head back around and nods it once as thanks towards his ally for saying that. "Perhaps next time though, I can talk to Shiek about his knowledge…For now though, I have to ask, what does that song he taught you do?"

The Hero of Time points towards the grey hexagon he took note of earlier, with Riku's eyes following where he's pointing at as he begins to explain "Basically, if for whatever reason I need to return to a temple, I can play a unique melody to be teleported from anywhere to the stone platform resting outside the entrances." "Sounds useful." Riku comments, which Link then responds to with a nod of his head. With nothing else to talk about at the moment though, the two heroes then look towards the temple entrance and walk carefully across the stone bridge to reach it, where they find a stone passage leading to an enclosed room with a ladder poking out of the back of an average sized square well. However, instead of going for the ladder, Link takes the riskier of the two options without hesitation and jumps straight into the center of the well.

Riku flinches as he steps forward quickly and bends his head down to watch Link's rapid descent, and though the impact with the ground sounds painful the Hero of Time only releases a subdued grunt of pain before standing straight up and turning around to look up at his ally. With one hand held beside his face with a smile on he proclaims "Take your time! I'll wait for you inside the temple!" After that, Link brings his head back down and walks forward while Navi emerges from behind him and floats in place at the bottom of the well for reasons unknown. With Link gone, the teenage Overlord decided to play it safe and leaped straight into the center of the pit, holding his hands out as far as he can without touching the walls and activating his powers of flight to create a slow descent towards the floor.

After ten seconds, Riku lands on the ground as Navi lets out a befuddled gasp and with wings flapping rapidly she flies right up close to the teenage Overlord's face and says to him "You can fly?!" Riku's heart skips a beat as he recognizes the fairy's presence directly in front of him, and after taking a couple steps back to put some distance between the two of them he turns his head an inch to the left and glances towards Navi to say "Yes…Apparently I was wrong about Ganondorf doing something to interfere with my flight…But if you could Navi, please don't say anything to Link about this. I'm still a bit…Uncertain about a few things and I don't want him to assume that I'd be able to carry him through temples." "I won't say anything Riku, promise." The fairy says with great honesty. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

So with silence between the two for the time being, Navi and Riku make their way through the small square tunnel connecting the bottom of this well to the Fire Temple while the teenage Overlord reflects on what he just said about his uncertainty. "I still don't know just why Ganondorf hurt me as much as he did…I know my durability should be strong enough to resist his attacks, and even with his Triforce of Power I should have been able to make him flinch. Something is up on this planet…Something that's gimping my powers and making me weaker than I should be, but what? …I'll have to get to the bottom of this later. Right now, its time to deal with the Fire Temple." As Riku finished his thoughts and entered the Fire Temple right behind Link, the Hero of Time turned around and watched as Navi swiftly flew back to him, her return bringing a happy smile to his face.

Riku takes a glance at the layout of the Fire Temple's first room while this is occurring. Immediately noticing the giant sandy brown staircase with two engraved blocks on both sides of it that are positioned at different lengths, the teenage Overlord walks past the Hero of Time for the time being and looks at the top of the staircase, finding three statues similar to the one in Darunia's room but with a dark brown coloring, calm expressions, and fire burning brightly in the center of their forms. Around the room were a few thick, circular stone pillars with square bases that kept the rocky ceiling from collapsing, and in the air near the foremost pillars were two bat-like creatures that were on fire yet continued to fly as if it was a natural part of their body. Besides for that though, there was nothing particularly interesting about this entrance.

"Lets be careful Riku…" Link says suddenly as he walks up beside his ally, snapping him out of his examination of the room and in turn causing him to slightly turn his head to face the Hylian as he calmly pulls out a wooden bow and puts an arrow against the center of it and the string, pulling it back and aiming it up while following one of the flying bats with his peering eyes. With a release of the arrow Link watches as it flies through the air straight on and pierces through the flaming bat, the creature shrieking in pain before it slowly disintegrates due to be unable to handle it own flames. Within seconds the Hero of Time deals with the second bat without flinching, just like he did against the Tektite from earlier. Even if they would ultimately prove antagonistic, it was slightly unnerving to see Link be rather emotionless as he kills these creatures, especially once he puts his bow away and turns to Riku with a more relaxed expression on his face.

"Sorry for being so quick to attack, but Navi told me that Fire Bats can ignite your blood if they manage to bite down on you…Though I have to wonder if your powers would make you immune to their bite." Thinking about that particular thought as he rubs his right hand against his chin, the Hero of Time is swiftly disrupting by Riku taking his right hand and waving it about to grab his attention while he replies to him with "I'm pretty certain my powers don't negate elemental attacks if I'm hit internally. That's not exactly something one tests out in their spare time after all." "Fair enough." Link says without saying anything more, and the two heroes climb the staircase to see where they have to go next. The door to the right of them is locked shut by two steel chains strapped in place by a demonic silver lock, so they make their way to the door to the steel door to the left of them, with Link reaching onto the knob with his right hand and twisting it to the undo the lock and open their way to the next room.

Though as the door is opened partway, Link looks on ahead and quickly gasps in shock upon noticing a familiar face standing on a lone platform on the other side of the room. Letting go of the door and immediately rushing towards the edge of the coal covered platform he stood on, the Hero of Time froze in place as Riku walked over beside him with a vaguely confused look as he stares at Link's agape expression, but after looking in the direction the Hylian currently was staring towards the teenage Overlord's eyebrows shift up in slight surprise. Standing before a flame insignia chain locked door that was roughly three times larger than the one the two heroes entered through is a Goron amongst Gorons, the king that had developed a bond of brotherhood with Link seven years ago, Darunia.

Darunia was definitely larger than most of his kin, with his muscles being more pronounced and his face having a more gruff expression to it. He was also taller than the others, seeing as how even if Link stood directly in front of him the Goron king would be roughly three heads taller than the Hero of Time. And finally, to show just how old he truly is compared to his brethren, Darunia is shown to have a type of hairy mane that was so hard in form that one would think from a distance that it was made entirely out of thick, short rocky spikes, with the biggest ones coming from the back of his scalp. With Link shocked to find the Goron king standing here in this very room, he expresses nothing but silence and causes Darunia to have the first word between them in over seven years. "Who's there?" But familiarity would have to wait, for as far away as he was from the Hero of Time along with the lava below creating a thin veil of heat that made it harder to see, Darunia had to lean his head forward and close his eyelids slightly to glare through it all.

However, when he gets a clear look at Link, it only takes a second for him to recognize who him, and with his seriousness melting away Darunia smiles and says with joy in his voice "Link, I can't believe its actually you!" Squinting his eyes to get a better look at the Hero of Time, Darunia's smile grows wider as he notes his changed appearance in his mind and says jovially "You've grown so big since I last saw you!" But as quickly as the man's joy came, does it fade away and his more serious expression returns. "Now, as much as I'd like to have a man-to-man talk with you, it isn't exactly the best time for us to do that…Ganondorf is causing trouble on Death Mountain again, though I would assume you already heard that from my son since you are here. In just a couple of hours, Ganondorf is going to come here in person and feed my people to the evil dragon Volvagia as a warning to the other races who might still want to resist his reign."

"But as of now, Volvagia is trapped within the room behind me, unable to escape without Ganondorf's help. I fear that if the King of Evil makes it here, he'll release that fire-breathing menace from this temple and turn all of Hyrule into a burning wasteland! I will go on ahead and do whatever I can to stop the evil dragon…But I will admit, I am a bit concerned for my own safety because I don't have the legendary hammer…I have no choice though. Link…I am asking you to do this for me as my Sworn Brother…Inside this temple, Ganondorf has put my people away in various jail cells. While I'm dealing with the dragon, I urge you to go and save my people! The prisoner's cells are in the opposite direction. I'm counting on you, Link…"

With one last smile, Darunia turns around and uses his mighty fist to punch the golden lock in front of him. Unable to withstand his might, the lock breaks apart and it along with the chains fall to the ground, causing the door to open up into the ceiling and allow Darunia entrance. Before he leaves though, Link thrusts his right hand into the air desperately and with a reminder from the Link the Goron echoing inside his mind about the dragon's strength he proclaims to his Sworn Brother "Darunia, don't do it! You won't survive!" The Goron King turns around as the door slowly closes shut, and the look in his eyes is more than enough to tell Link that Darunia knew that fact far too well. The door slams shut, and with the power of dark magic influencing it the golden lock reforms to keep the heroes from following the Goron King. Nothing but hopeless sorrow overcomes Link's mind as his quivering hand is held in the air for five silent seconds, and in an instant the Hero of Time falls to his knees with his palms resting very close to the edge of the platform…Riku could tell that he was holding back the tears, but as Link slams his right fist against the ground the teenage Overlord knew that he was not just sad, but angered as well. After releasing his emotions in the most mature way possible, Link gets back onto his feet and turns around to face his ally with a firm eyed glare and declares to him "For Darunia, lets free his people and slay Volvagia!"

_Next Time: The Magma Compound_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Bolero of Fire II: The Crimson Cauldron**

"…Link, are you going to be ok?" Riku asks with a tone of deep concern after witnessing the Hero of Time's slight outburst of sadness in full. Responding with a tight clench of his right fist in front of his chest and a nod of his head, Link says to his ally "Yeah, I'll hold up just fine." Despite the serious glare in Link's eyes though, Riku could tell because of the slight quiver in his fist that he was holding back his sadness as hard as he could. The teenage Overlord felt that had should say something to reassure the Hero of Time that it would be fine to feel sad around him, but seeing as he was likely being courageous for both of their sakes along with Darunia's, it would be foolish to try and break Link's bravery. Riku just hoped deep down that the Hero of Time would stay focused throughout the temple. "Alright, then we need to get a move on while we still have a chance to stop Volvagia…Hmm?"

Tilting his head slightly to the left to finally get a better look at the room after spending the last couple of minutes focused on Link and Darunia's conversation, Riku notices a few iron bars keeping something sealed up inside of a small cavern. There was a inward square raised switch in front of the bars that someone of Link's weight could likely press down on to release the bars, and with a gesture of his right finger towards the cage the teenage Overlord says "Link, I think Darunia didn't notice that cage over there when he said to go to the opposite side of the temple." The Hero of Time follows the direction of Riku's gesture and sees a bit of a Goron peeking out from behind the side of the cage, and with a nod of his head Link knows what he has to do.

"Give me just a moment, I'll go free him." He says, and without hesitation he runs towards the small platform hanging off of the left side of the one they are on and leaps out to land on top of it without much difficulty. He then turns and jumps over to the next one in the sequence, and finally two short leaps allow him to reach the jail cell. Riku, despite believing in the swiftness of Link's trip, jumps across the platforms in rapid succession after he had finished and joins him at the side the moment he walks on top of the stone switch and pushes it down. Instantly, the bars in front of the two heroes slide away, giving freedom to the average-sized Goron sitting inside, who uncurls himself and sits up with a tired grumble emerging from his lips. "Hmm…Are you releasing me? A-Am I free to go?" The Goron then says nervously.

Link and Riku both nod their heads in unison, and after confirming that the two's intentions are good the Goron smiles and says to them "Thank you very much then…Allow me to tell you two a secret about this temple. In order to get into the room where Darunia went, you have to do something about the pillar stuck in the ceiling. For your sake and ours, you should quickly find your way to the room above the ceiling!" Riku and Link both turn their heads around and look up towards the ceiling, where they see most of a pillar sticking down through a square hole at the center of the room's rocky roof. Link looks back at the Goron and thanks him for the hint, and after moving aside to give him passage through the two heroes watch as the Goron uses his bulk to surprisingly good advantage in order to thrust himself across the platforms and make his way out the nearby door.

"…Hmm?" After the Goron had left all the way, Link turned his head back around as he remembers catching a glimpse of something strange in the cage. There is a lone brown wooden treasure chest resting inconspicuously on the ground that the Hero of Time walks up to and gives a light kick at the front in order to unlock it right open and allow him to see what contents lie inside. With a dip of his right hand, Link pulls out a small silver key and raises it up until his hand is level with his chest. "Well, it won't open the way to Volvagia's room, but at least we can make some progress now." Riku says as he turns and notices the key resting on the Hero of Time's palm. Wrapping his fingers around the key to keep it in tightly in his grasp, Link faces his ally and nods his head in agreement. After taking one last glimpse around the room to make sure that they aren't missing anything else, the heroes head across the platforms and make their way back to the temple entrance.

From there they walk over to the locked door they saw before, where Link unfolds his fingers and takes the key into the lock to turn it and cause the chains to retract into the corners of the doorway while the lock itself breaks apart and falls to the ground. Link reaches for the doorknob and turns it to open the way into the next room with Riku following close behind. Now the heroes find themselves on a brick covered platform standing before a long wooden bridge that is suspended in place by four powerful copper chains attached to the center boards. Spread out across the lava below the bridge are a series of different shaped solidified mounds of magma, all of them cooled down to the point that they'd be safe for Link to walk on even without the Goron Tunic. The first thing Link does besides observe the immediate scenery is to turn his head left and right to scan the room for anything out of place.

"Hey, let me help us out a bit here." Riku says as he moves out in front of Link with an insistent offer to assist, and with a spreading of his arms in front of his body the teenage Overlord focuses on the heat in the room and uses tries to use his powers to calm down the temperature enough so that the heat rising into the air would no longer obscure their vision of the room they were in. However, much to his great surprise, no matter how hard he tried to modify the heat of the lava, nothing changed in the slightest. The teenage Overlord widened his eyes to express abundant confusion over this matter, with Link inquiring to him "What are you trying to do exactly?" As Riku pulls his arms back, he replies to his ally while staring at his hands with blank bewilderment "I-I was going to lower the heat in this room to make it easier to see what's up ahead, but for some reason my fire powers aren't working." "That sounds odd…Are you feeling ok?"

Realizing that the two shared the same thought at that moment, Riku turns his body around with a understandably flabbergasted look on his face before reverting his expression back to normal and replying to the Hero of Time with "That's the strangest part. Nothing changed between here and the trail up Death Mountain for me." _"It must be Ganondorf's doing…" _Riku quickly thought to himself while Link became silent and tried to think about just why his ally's powers were suddenly not working. "Wait, is it just your fire powers or is everything else gone?" He asks. "Hmm…" The teenage Overlord, having not thought of that possibility until now, quickly turns around to face the lava pit and thrusts his hand out and in six times to try and release varying bursts of elemental energy. All that he manages to muster forth though are the elemental energies of Grass, Wind, and Electricity. Fire, Water, Earth and Ice were currently unavailable to him.

"Great, that's half of my powers gone…Inconveniently for us, all of them would have been very useful to us inside of this temple." "…You think Ganondorf is behind this then?" Link says as a way of sharing his own thoughts with his ally. Riku turns around and nods his head, while inside his mind he is glad that the Hero of Time is thinking on the save wavelength as he is. "And again, you are CERTAIN he never figured out your identity?" As insistent as Link was in assuming that he was right about that, Riku responded in nearly the same way as he did before "No, he didn't. I don't know how he could have deduced it considering I had never come to this planet before." "Hmm…" Link folds his arms in front of his chest for a few moments to think about this conundrum, only for Riku to gesture with his right hand and say "We are wasting valuable time worrying about this. We can figure it out later, alright?"

Parting his arms from his chest, the Hero of Time nods his head in agreement of that sentiment and the two heroes turned back towards the heated environment set before them and begin walking across the bridge in order to get a better look from out there. Link quickly pulls out his bow though and shoots down a couple of Fire Bats that were flying through the air, since he didn't want them impeding their progress. As he lowered his head after facing the left bat though, the Hero of Time saw through the orange veil of heat a lone faded blue cube resting on top of a wall that had a small passage inside of it. On that cube was the crest of the royal Hyrule family, meaning that there had to be something important hidden behind it if it was placed in that exact location. As Link puts his bow away, Riku turns towards him and watches him gesture forward with a swing of his right arm while proclaiming "Follow me."

The two heroes leap down from the bridge and onto a raised, curved formation of solid magma that leads towards two square platforms ingrained between it and the wide brick walkway they need to go to. After leaping across the leftmost platform the two heroes make their way onto the brick walkway, where Link reaches into his tunic and pulls out the Ocarina of Time once more. "You going to play another song?" Riku asks as the Hero of Time takes the blowhole of the Ocarina and puts it close to his lips. "Yeah. I'll need to concentrate though, so make sure no other Fire Bats swoop down to distract me in the meantime." With that easy to follow request, Link puts his mouth on the Ocarina and begins twiddling his fingers along the blowhole while playing a slow, harmonious melody.

At the end of the song, Riku turns around and Link opens his eyelids up while watching as the cube above them becomes swallowed up by a hollow pillar of wavy blue light that slowly collapses inward as the cube itself is swiftly teleported onto the thin crevice in front of them, which in turn causes the passageway beyond to be sealed off. Though as the teenage Overlord knew from his memories, the doorway that Link just opened up was NOT the way they were meant to go. Riku wanted to say something about this matter, but anything short of claiming that he had a "bad feeling" about the next room would cause the Hero of Time to get suspicious. Once again, he couldn't have that happen. "Hold up a moment Link…" Riku says while extending his right hand out in front of his body. The Hero of Time glances over his right shoulder as he starts to put the Ocarina of Time away, only for the teenage Overlord to then proclaim "Keep the Ocarina out, you need to put the block back."

"How come?" Link asks with his eyelids arching in a rather bewildered manner. With his upper teeth biting down gently upon his lip, Riku quickly put together a fib necessary to get Link to believe him "Because I sense some plant life coming from down the passageway, and a Goron is sitting down on it." "Oh, really? Well, glad you brought that up before we went into the wrong room." Thanking his ally for the heads-up, Link draws his Ocarina back into his mouth and replays the melody to move the cube back into its original position. Then, the Hero of Time puts his Ocarina and turns to glance at Riku over his left shoulder. "The Song of Time." He says casually. "Hmm?" Riku says in a fake tone of curiosity towards Link's statement. "It is the song I played just now. Besides opening the Door of Time, it has allowed me to move some of these blue cubes lying around inside of these temples."

"So for future reference, let you know about any other blue blocks so you can play the song?" Riku asks. Link, as he slowly turns back to face the passageway, nods his head. The two heroes move on, entering through the steel door and finding themselves inside of a curved, structurally sound rock tunnel that was lit up by two large torches coming from around the corner. Walking forward, Link accidentally steps down onto a stone switch that was right in front of another jail cell. Just like before, the bars slide open and the Goron inside wakes up and sits upright to face the two heroes with weary eyes. Also like the previous time, the Goron says "A-Are you releasing me? Am I free to go?" To which the two heroes respond with a light nod of their heads.

"Oh thank you very much! Here's a secret for helping me out! A wall that you can destroy with a Goron's 'special crop' will sound different than a regular wall if you hit it with your sword." With another word of thanks to his saviors, the Goron walks away, hopefully returning to the sanctity of his city in due time. Riku turns to face Link as the Hero of Time walks past him and kicks the nearby chest to open it. With eyebrows raised he asks "Special Crop?" "He was referring to Bombs. Remember the plant I used back in the city?" Link replies as he pulls the silver key from the chest and turns to face Riku with his body straightening out slowly. "Oh right, they produced Bombs. Hmm…So I guess you should be ready to use your sword later on, but not just for combat."

Nodding his head in agreement, the two heroes make their way out of this tunnel and head back into the previous room. After crossing the platforms and rocks to make their way back to the bridge, Link looks around to try and find anything else of interest. Seeing a strange brick section on the rocky wall to the right of them, the Hero of Time says to his ally that it would be worth it to investigate over there. Thus, the two heroes jump across more solidified magma to reach a small incline that leads to the brick platform where the suspicious wall segment lies. Drawing the Master Sword from his sheath, Link swings it against the wall beside the mysterious segment and memorizes the sound before taking another swift swing at the brick wall. The noise made there is quieter, meaning that there was something hollow behind it.

Flipping his sword around and sheathing it once more, Link reaches for a brown bag attached to the backside of his tunic and pulls out a Bomb that happened to be inside of it. With the strength of his right arm proving not to be good enough to carry it, the Hero of Time holds it above himself with both arms after putting the silver key away into his right tunic pocket and flings it through the air in an arc so it lands roughly in front of the brick wall. He then pulls out his shield and kneels down to protect himself while Riku jumps off the platform momentarily in order to avoid being caught up in the ensuing blast radius. With the Bomb's detonation, a hole is blown open through the bricks, with the chunks of rock that survived the explosion scattering across the air in multiple directions, a couple of them colliding with Link's shield and in turn causing the Hero of Time to lift his head past the shield and eventually stand back up when he realizes that it was safe for him to do so.

"That takes care of that…" Link says in a relieved tone of voice as Riku jumps up beside him and asks while gesturing towards the Bomb Bag "Say, how many of those things do you have on you?" "39 now. Why do you ask?" Link cheerfully responds. Tilting his head slightly in confusion, the teenage Overlord says "Considering how big those Bombs are I don't know how you could possibly fit that many into one bag." Having listened in to the conversation up until now, Navi suddenly emerges behind Link with a single flap of her wings and says to Riku in a surprisingly detailed manner "The Bomb Bag has been enchanted with magic by one of the Great Fairies, thus allowing it to contain a wide manner of objects that are much, MUCH bigger than the bag itself actually is." With eyes widened in surprise at his friend's sudden appearance, Link murmurs out with a tone of gratitude "Umm…Thank you very much for explaining that to Riku, Navi." "Not a problem Link, glad to be of use!" And with that enthusiastically spoken sentence, Navi retreats.

"And I'm guessing the same magic applies to your quiver and other storage items?" Riku asks without making a single acknowledgement towards Navi's appearance past a couple blinks of the eyelids. "Yeah. Its rather convenient for traveling, since if I had the full weight of 40 Bombs in my bag, I likely wouldn't be able to walk." Expressing the convenience of the Great Fairy's magic with a tone of gratitude despite said being not being in the area, Link then swiftly reaches into his tunic and pulls out the key to hold onto it as the two heroes walk into the passage they just opened, which is short and leads to yet another caged Goron. Link does the usual process of stepping on the stone switch, though this time the Goron had awakened prematurely due to hearing the explosion. After saying the same thing his two brethren had said to the heroes, the Goron offered yet another secret about the temple.

"There are switches in this temple that you have to cut to activate. But, you can also use our 'special crop' to do the job." And with that, the Goron leaves with his freedom now returned to him. "Three down, who knows how many more to go…" Riku notes while the Hero of Time kicks another chest behind him and gets another silver key. This one, however, he wishes to hand over to his ally. "Hey Riku, catch!" Giving him enough of a heads-up, Link throws the silver key over to the teenage Overlord as he turns to face him, and with a brief flinch in his expression Riku flips his right hand up in front of his chest and grabs the key out of mid-air. After a couple confused eyelid blinks, Riku asks "Why are you giving one to me?" "Just to free one hand up to hold the Master Sword." Link replies as he flips the first silver key into the grasp of his left hand.

"Alright…" With acceptance towards the key that has been handed off to him, Riku swings his arm down beside his hip and makes certain to prevent the key from being lost. The two heroes leave the area behind and make their way across the closest platform to reach a small wooden board connecting the solidified magma they were currently on to the brick platform that finally herald's this room's end. Link takes the key in his hand and uses it to open the door in front of them, allowing them to enter the next room. The most glaring thing that greets the two heroes is a giant wall of steel mesh whose only gap resides directly in front of them at the bottom of the small, wooden board. The two heroes tread carefully across the board, for one misstep would send them plummeting into the lava filled crevice below. Though it would prove to be a trek filled with peril for anyone else, the two heroes made their way to the other side with little difficulty.

Instantly a bright red-orange glow covers their faces as a thin geyser of lava erupts from an otherwise inconspicuous hole in the center of the ground. The geyser reaches up into a square shaped hole in the ceiling, causing Link's curiosity to come into effect as he notices something poking out from beside the top of the one of the two monstrous pillars that rested on both sides of the geyser. "Hey Riku, think you can stand here for a few moments? I want to check something out." Link politely requests to his ally, who glances towards him with a turn of his head after he had finished examining the room and says without much of a care "Hmm? Yeah…I can wait for you down here. But be careful up there." Happy to know that Riku had determined where he was going, Link turns around and heads for the steel mesh in order to climb it.

Alternating his hands and feet between the holes compromising the mesh, the Hero of Time climbs and wall while making the occasional glance backwards to make sure that not a single bat flies his way. Once he reaches the top, Link tries his hardest to maintain his balance on the very thin steel bar framing the wall, his arms outstretched while his left foot has been positioned directly in front of his right. The Hero of Time shifts which of his feet is at the front back and forth until he gets onto a more manageable surface, at which point he turns to face the left side of the mesh boardwalk and sees a gigantic stone cube sitting very close to the edge of the pillar's top. "Just as I thought…" Link says with a smile on his face before he proceeds to leap down from the boardwalk and land behind the cube.

With all of his might focused into his hands, the Hero of Time pushes against the backside of the cube and little by little moves it along the ground until it is fully off the edge of the pillar, at which point gravity does its thing and drops the cube down on top of the geyser. The impact causes the ground to tremble violently, especially around Riku's region, but having seen this coming the Elemental Overlord merely bends down and stands his ground to avoid being thrown onto his back. After a couple more seconds, Link jumps down from the pillar and lands on top of the cube, turning towards his ally and kneeling down to extend a hand and say "Grab on, I'll lift you up." With no hesitation Riku smiles and walks forward to grab onto the Hero of Time's hand, where the two of them work together to get Riku onto the cube right as the geyser erupts underneath the weight of the cube and launches it straight up through the air at rapid speeds to send it through the square hole and bring the two heroes into the next room.

Before the geyser dies out and the cube falls back down, Link and Riku jump off and find themselves right in front of another locked door. This time the teenage Overlord has the honor of opening their way into the next area. Now the heroes find themselves inside of another expansive room, where right in front of them lies a Goron stuck in a cage. However, unlike the other ones, the switch wasn't right in the vicinity of the cage, but rather in a room behind the two sets of bars that kept the poor Goron inside. "Guess we can't free this one right now…" Link said concernedly as he rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Then lets move on, I see something over to the left of us." Riku, wanting to redirect the Hero of Time's attention away from the Goron for the time being, pointed in the aforementioned direction towards a couple of bricks platforms beyond the coal paved floor.

The two heroes move on their way, making it over to the brick platforms and jump up onto the first section only to be immediately greeted by a strange, moving blob of magma with two flaming antennae sticking out of the front of its body. This was a Torch Slug, was Riku recalled, but the finer details of its nature were unimportant as Link quickly drew the Master Sword out and brought it down upon its skin to damage the fleshy core inside. With the critical damage done to its body, the slug's skin becomes grey and the creature sinks down against the ground as everything about it slowly ceases to exist. Link does the very same thing to the Torch Slug on the second platform to the right of them, though this one dies trying to climb up the torch standing nearby. After sheathing his sword the Hero of Time glances to the right and finds a grey switch obscured by a diamond shaped crystal coating standing beside a grainy brown stone cube.

Without saying anything to his ally, Link leaps over the gap and lands behind the cube, glancing at the switch and peering his eyes upward as he reminds himself of the one Goron's hint about these types of switches. "Hmm…I should use a Bomb on it whenever I get to that ledge above me." Keeping that idea in his head for later, the Hero of Time then turns around and faces the cube to begin pushing it off the edge. Riku quickly jumps off the platform he was on and waits beside where he knew the cube would land with arms folded patiently in front of his chest. Link is shown having a rather difficult time pushing the stone, likely because he had just pushed one a few minutes ago. So once the cube falls to the ground and the Hero of Time appears ready to jump over it to land behind and pull it towards the stone face at the end of the indent, Riku holds his hands up and causes him to pause momentarily. "What is it Riku?" Link understandably asks out of confusion.

"You look a little tired. Let me handle this one." With his kind gesture tossed out, Riku walks over to the backside of the stone while the Hero of Time raises his eyebrows and shrugs his shoulders before saying to his ally "If you think you can handle it, sure." The teenage Overlord pulls his head back and looks up at the Hero of Time with a smile on his face and replies with "Hey, if you can do it, then so can I!" Riku latches his hands inside of the grooves in the cube's symbol and puts his back into his work as he begins to tug on the cube itself. He uses his own physical strength to pull back on the stone since his Earth powers are disabled at the moment, but finds that this was was rather easy to perform. After putting the cube in its proper place, Link leaps down from the platform and walks over to the panting Riku as he leans forward with his hands placed against his knees.

"That…Was a little harder than I thought it would be." Riku humbly admits. "You just aren't used to these type of blocks, more than likely." Link replies with. The teenage Overlord turns his head to face the Hero of Time and grins, agreeing with his thought and saying in turn "Yeah…You're right." After he has caught his breath, Riku wipes the sweat dripping from his brow and stands up straight while Link leaps on top of the cube. The teenage Overlord follows close behind as the Hero of Time makes his way over to the rightmost platform and starts climbing the metal mesh. Riku watches Link closely for a few seconds to see just how he does it in hopes that he'll be able to replicate the process despite the difference in height. Once Link reaches he top, he moves away to give Riku the necessary room needed to get up.

The teenage Overlord then takes a deep breath and puts his hands and feet in the holes of the mesh, alternating them back and forth exactly like Link would in order to climb higher and higher up the mesh until he reaches the very top. By the point where his head is looking past the top of the wall, he watches Link take a Bomb out of his bag and set it down off the platform. Remembering the switch from earlier, Riku pulls himself up and as his hands lie on the thick brick flooring he turns to the right and sees a pillar of fire obscuring the mesh ladder that the two heroes needed to use to advance. After the bomb detonates the switch activates with a barely heard click, and the pillar of fire compresses without affecting the metal mesh.

"Glad to see you were ahead of the game there Link." Riku compliments the Hero of Time as he turns around and faces the ladder. Link glances to the right swiftly as a ticking noise begins to increase in intensity with every passing second "Thanks, but I don't think we have much time to waste here." Hearing the noise himself in the middle of Link pointing it out, Riku swerves his body to face the mesh ladder and dashes towards it behind the Hero of Time. With no time to wait for Link to get up to the top, Riku only waits for the Hylian to get up partway before climbing the mesh himself. The ticking reaches a crescendo after a few more seconds, but by the time the pillar of fire returns into existence the two of them have made it to the next room behind the door near the mesh. "Aaaaaand that likely won't be the last of those we find around here." Riku points out in a somewhat annoyed tone of voice as he folds his arms behind his head and stretches them high into the air.

The two heroes now find themselves in a small stone maze with various, mythical faces etched into panels on the walls. Some trembling can be felt in the ground coming from various points in this maze, signifying that one or more boulders awaited the heroes within. With the dangers in this room clear to them, the two heroes made certain to tread carefully through this treacherous maze, with the occasional peek of their heads around the corners being their only means of protection against the rolling boulders. Though in all honesty, if Riku wanted to he could have simply flown up above the platforms and guided Link along the way, but after seeing that most of his elemental powers were negated upon entering the temple he wondered if his flight had been messed with too. After all, he didn't technically enter the temple until he got past that big ladder before the entrance.

Though in all honesty, despite thinking more about his flight then focusing on the maze itself, Riku manages to follow Link to the left side of the room where another Goron lies waiting to be freed. After the usual process of opening his cage and him thanking the two, the Gorons mentions something about "fake doors that fall down when one tries to open them", and Link picks up another small key. Upon exiting that room, the two heroes head over to a door on the opposite side of where they first came in from and find yet another Goron in a jail cell, and upon freeing him he tells them " " and leaves as the Hero of Time picks up yet another small key and hands it over to Riku. The two then leave that area and head on over to the left where another door awaits them.

They enter it and find themselves in a circular room that rests high above the lava filled pit on the first floor. The only thing standing between the heroes and certain death was the fractured brick bridge between here and the locked door on the other side. There was a door to the right that was locked off by metal bars, but Riku insisted to Link that there were no Gorons on the other side of it. So after careful crossing the heroes made it to the locked door and the teenage Overlord puts the key in to undo the lock, allowing them to enter the next room. Much like the maze room, this next area was curved in design, but had a lot more room and visibility to offer to the heroes. Link and Riku walk across an L-shaped brick incline and leap onto a mesh platform suspended a few inches above the lava by strong steel chains.

Suddenly, a wisp of hot air blows by the two heroes from behind, causing them both to turn around suddenly and watch as a wall of searing flames emerges from the lava. This malicious barrier of magical design appears to be intent only on burning the two heroes, for as it approaches them slowly it doesn't melt the platforms that they are crossing quickly in order to avoid being fried alive. Eventually noticing an open door at the end of the mesh platforms, Link and Riku leap onto the stone platform nearby and climb their way onto the highest point in front of the door as the wall of fire reaches the end of the room and immediately disperses into nothingness. Relieved that they have made it this far without much harm done to their bodies, the two heroes turn around and open the door, finding themselves back in the maze room but now on the second floor of it.

Upon noticing a hole in one of the stone platforms in front of them, Link pulls out his bow and shoots an arrow at the nearby Torch Slug to put its fire out momentarily, and then after leaping across the gap between this platform and the next he plunges the Master Sword right into its back while gripping it in both hands. With the creature dead, Riku joins the Hero of Time by his side once more as he sheathes his blade, and they then move on to the hole in front of them. Using the mesh wall below their feet to climb down, the heroes find the switch to the Goron cage they saw earlier and free the inhabitant from his fate, earning a tip about "a dancing creature that cannot be harmed by arrows" in the process along with another silver key.

The two heroes then climb back up to the maze and turn around to find a stone switch sitting out in the middle of nowhere. Link leaps over and activates it, opening a barren jail cell nearby that was likely meant to be inhabited by Darunia's son had Ganondorf managed to capture him, but instead finds itself occupied by another chest containing a silver key. With three keys in their possession, Link holds on to two in one hand while Riku takes the last one for himself. After backtracking across the stone platforms, the heroes make it back to the room with the flaming wall and notice a locked door on the other side that they make their way to with careful plat forming and open up using one of Link's keys. The two of them then make their way down a torch lit stone hallway until they find another door waiting for them, at which point they arrive at a circular room with a strange tower-like room being the centerpiece of the two's attention.

However, the most noticeable door was locked from the inside via a few steel bars seen on the outside, meaning that the two heroes would have to find an alternate way into the tower if they wanted to continue. For now though, the leap down off the stone platform and land on a square piece of steel mesh that, after a look down, reveals to them that they are directly above the room where they saw Darunia. Despite how many minutes its been since they had heard the information, Link remembers what the Goron had said about the pillar that could be dislodged in order to give anyone passage to Volvagia's room. "…Think you have anything amongst your powers that could free the pillar?" Link asks his ally, breaking a silence that the two of them had shared for the last few rooms.

"Hmm?" Riku says out of surprise. "Everything I got is too light to help us here…But say, shouldn't that legendary hammer Darunia and his son spoke of be hidden somewhere inside of this temple?" Offering an alternative suggestion to their problem, Link then turns to his ally and says to him "Yeah, now that you mention it we should be able to find that here. Considering how much of the temple we've gone through so far, it has to be somewhere on this floor." Not wanting to joke to Link that there was possibly a couple of floors left to cover, Riku instead nods his head in agreement and vows to help the Hero of Time find the weapon necessary to continue on their way.

The heroes make their way to the left, this time finding themselves trapped inside of another maze where walls of fire suddenly spread out between two small pillars whenever they got too close to them. With the help of Link's caution and the occasional extended of his Master Sword in order to check prematurely in certain areas, the two eventually make it to a locked door near the base of the tower and use one of their keys to open the way inside. There is a Goron trapped inside of a cage off to the side of them, but there doesn't appear to be any switches in the immediate area so the two ignore the captive creature until they can better explore this tower and instead make their way to the door on the other side.

Emerging on the other side of the room, the heroes find another maze of fire walls, only this time they are accompanied by twirling devices that shoot streams of fire out of two sides of their bodies every few seconds. Once again forced to be careful as they traverse the maze, the heroes find themselves near a large wall of flame that has no intention to disperse…Until Riku notices a nearby switch and steps on it to cause the fire to sink into the ground for the time being. Behind the wall appears to be a door that is more pronounced than all the others in the temple, which immediately strikes Link as suspicious and causes him to reactively pull a Bomb from his bag and detonate the door, revealing the real one resting right behind the fake that they enter through post-haste.

Finally, the heroes have arrived in a rather serene feeling room, with a calming pillar of fire rising out of a stone, square altar in the middle of this circular room. However, such serenity lasts only a moment as the two heroes are swiftly sealed in by large metal bars slamming down in front of both doors in the room. Flinching and turning behind themselves to face the objects keeping them in, Link and Riku fail to notice the activity going on inside of the pillar of fire behind them. Emerging from the altar gracefully until it lands on the air is a creature that, save for its red-insignia stone chest, is made out of searing flames that have formed into the figure of a ballroom garb and piercing solid lances attached to the palms and toes of this magnificent creature. This creature, despite being called a Flare Dancer, is seen only as an obstacle for Link and Riku as the Hero of Time draws out his Master Sword and Riku summons forth his own blade for the first time in what seemed to be a long while to meet the taunting brandish of this burning creature…

_Next Time: The Goron's Freedom_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Bolero of Fire III: When You Have a Hammer**

"Remember Link, this creature is immune to your arrows." As the battle against the Flare Dancer begins with near motionlessness from the two heroes, Riku reminds the Hero of Time of the advice one of the Goron prisoners had given them. Link nods his head in thanks as the burning creature begins to stir. The Flare Dancer extends its lances downward while pushing its legs together until the lances there appear to be as thin as needles. Focusing only on its targets, the creature of fire twirls around rapidly and begins to move towards the heroes with the utmost grace surrounding its spreading cinders. Riku leaps to the left while Link keeps a kneeled defensive stance and moves to the right around the edge of the room, his shield taking the forefront while his sword is gripped tightly in his right hand.

After the Flare Dancer nicks the nearby wall with the tip of his arm lances, the creature catches a brief glimpse of the teenage Overlord and twirls his way over to him. With his mind guiding his sword through the air, Riku takes a hard swing at the stone core of the creature in hopes that his blade will find a gap through the lances to strike. However, in spite of the boy's luck in that endeavor the tip of the blade nicks the stone core and only releases a few sparks that serve to fuel the flames of the dancer. Widening his eyes in shock that his effort failed, Riku quickly thrusts his left arm underneath his right one and releases a spherical burst of wind from his palm that connects with the ground and creates a miniature tornado that spins in the opposite direction of the dancer at a much faster pace in order to slow the creature down and give the teenage Overlord enough time to make a sideways leap to the left, his body turning 90 degrees to the left so he can face the creature as the tornado's effects wear off and his speed returns.

"Well looks like sword strikes aren't going to work…" Riku says while pressing his teeth together lightly and arching his eyebrows in annoyance. The teenage Overlord lands on the ground gently and turns towards the Hero of Time, who keeps alternating his gaze between the Flare Dancer and Riku as he tries to figure out the creature's weakness. Of course, he is not alone on that end, for his fairy companion Navi is currently floating as close as she can to the creature in order to check for any weak spots. "If Link's been keeping an eye on me, then there's no reason for me to tell him about my discovery…" Riku thinks to himself as he finishes glancing over at Link and focuses bravely back towards the Flare Dancers as it begins to head his way.

The easy thing about fighting this creature was that its pattern was incredibly predictable. It only had the ability to spin around and cut people down with its lances. Its fire was worthless beyond offering the creature with a way to hold its weapons…Now if only Riku could remember just how to defeat the Flare Dancer. "You can remember most of this world's history Riku, but when it comes to figuring out one mini-boss' weakness you just up and forget how…" Berating himself for such a simple lapse in information remembrance, the teenage Overlord leaps away from the Flare Dancer as it comes for him once more and finds himself by Link once more as the Hero of Time swiftly backs into his side and both heroes flinch in shock before realizing that there is nothing to worry about.

"Any ideas?" Link asks, indicating that his own observations have come up dry thus far. Riku merely shakes his head, and with a "Tsk" the Hero of Time turns to face the Flare Dancer and says with his sword held at length besides his hip "Navi, what can you tell us?" The brave little fairy, for all of her silence thus far, ends up providing the most useful advice to the two heroes as she floats away from the spinning flames and returns to Link's side "The creature's flames appears to be connected to the stone. Remove it and you should be able to defeat it." Nodding his head to show that he understands what was said, Link thanks his friend with a smile on his face and asks her to fall behind him for protection in case he doesn't pull this off correctly.

Sheathing his blade for the time being much to the confusion of Riku, Link suddenly pulls out his Hookshot as the Flare Dancer stops spinning for the time being, and with his arm lifted into the air and a bead drawn on the creature's stony core the teenage Overlord's eyes widen as a memory is drawn into his head about the creature's weakness at long last. "Oh! I see what you are going to do!" Riku declares as he stands up and takes a step back to give the Hero of Time the space needed to get the job done. Keeping his sword at arms length while its pointed downward, the teenage Overlord turns his eyes towards Link as he says "Riku, I'm going to need you to strike the core when I pull it out, ok?" "Not a problem Link, just hurry up before he starts spinning again." Nodding his head in agreement, the Hero of Time activates the Hookshot to send the chain and hook straight towards the center of the Flare Dancer's stone core.

The hook connects, puncturing the core and solidifying its place inside as Link grips the handle and causes the chain to pull back with the stone being tugged away from the rest of the swiftly dispersing flames. The pull ends in a second, the chain releasing from the rest of the stone as it lands a few feet away from the Hero of Time and bounces on the ground twice before a miniature red head emerges from the top and the stone suddenly grows two thin legs to indicate that it is actually alive. The creature, fearful for its life, begins to scamper off in the opposite direction of the two heroes as Link begins to put his Hookshot away. Riku chases after the Flare Dancer with his blade at the ready out beside him. With a thrust of his right hand in the direction of the creature the teenage Overlord creates a howling gale that pushes up underneath its stony body and launches into within range of his blade.

Riku quickly takes advantage of the Flare Dancer's helplessness by guiding his sword with his mind through the air in a downward arch, cutting the creature once before guiding his blade in a curve to the left as he comes back around and cuts the creature horizontally. The creature flashes red every time its struck, with chunks of its structure spreading off across the air. But as the effects of the gale wear off and the Flare Dancer falls to the ground it wastes no time in scurrying off towards the pillar of fire in the center of the room. Sensing its motives, Riku turns towards the altar with determined eyes and proclaims the very moment the creature leaps "Oh no you don't!" And with a thrust of his left hand once more the teenage Overlord creates a pocket of wind that catches the Flare Dancer mid jump and traps it inside an inescapable bubble.

While it flinches in hopes of bursting free, Riku quickly takes his sword and thrusts the sharpened tip through the edge of the air bubble and punctures straight into the hook mark left by Link's endeavors. The blade reaches the creature's burning, charcoal heart and breaks it right apart. Pulling the sword right out, Riku leaps back as the unstable Flare Dancer begins to expand in size to the point that the air bubble is unable to contain it and the creature bursts in a small and swift fiery explosion, signifying its defeat. In turn, the pillar of fire fades away and the bars in the room rise back into the doorway. As this mini-boss had been soundly defeated, Riku dispels his sword in an array of fire and turns towards the Hero of Time as he walks next to him and says "Good work."

"Yeah, same to you." Riku replies with a smile preceding his compliment. "You were definitely a lot more active during the fight than you were throughout the rest of the temple thus far. Why is that?" Link asks while tilting his head to the left a bit. "Because I'm not really the adventurer type, honestly. I may notice one detail here or there, but it would take me longer to do it in comparison to a veteran such as you. I'm better off when it comes to fights though." Giving an explanation that didn't reveal anything about his knowledge of this world, Riku watches as the Hero of Time puts his head upright and nods. "Fair enough, just was a bit curious." With that conversation out of the way, Link turns his head towards the altar and says "So, where do you think this elevator leads to?"

"Hmmm? Elevator?" Riku asks as a show of fake confusion. "Well, this room doesn't have any other doors, and there's a hole in the ceiling above this 'altar' so…" "So you think the altar is actually an elevator that will take us where we need to go? …Hmm, we don't really have any other options, do we now?" Link shakes his head in response to Riku's question, and the two heroes climb onto the 'altar' via the nearby staircase that they had failed to notice up until now and watch as it rises up through the hole in the ceiling to carry them to a small room where only a door awaits them. Jumping off the block as it begins to descend back to its original position, the two heroes open the door and head on through to the next part of the temple.

Inside this new room is a small crystal switch similar to the one they found earlier that's just resting to the right of them. Remembering this for now, Link and Riku climb the nearby steel mesh and head onto the next floor only to find a pillar of fire covering the second mesh ladder they need to climb. After going through the due process of pulling out and dropping a Bomb onto the switch below, the two heroes rush to beat the time limit and climb up the ladder, making it just as the switch turns off and reactivates the flames. Now finding themselves in front of another door, the two heroes advance through it to reach a new room, whose ground is marked in cindered earth and there exists a gap in the center that leads all the way down to a unknown part of the temple obscured mostly by waves of heat.

With nothing else to do but check out the stone switch on the raised platforms in front of them, Link jumps up with the teenage Overlord close behind and stands on top of the switch to activate it. On the highest ledge in the room a small pillar of flame in the center of four large torches fades away to allow anyone access to the large treasure chest sitting in the middle of the set pieces. Knowing that there was likely a time limit to this puzzle, Link quickly dashes across the small, rising steps directly to the right of him and makes his way around the room bit by bit while large boulders rolling along the chasm to the left threaten his balance with their incessant tremors. The Hero of Time made sure to be careful as usual, for one misstep would send him hurtling into the unknown pit to the right or get him squished by a boulder.

Eventually though, the Hylian's courage and caution prevails over the perils set before him, and he makes his way to the front of the large chest and uses his hands to pry the lid open. After staring into the cache of shining yellow light coming from within, Link pushes the lid forward and bends down into the chest to plunder it. The light fades away as Riku looks at the Hero of Time's actions from afar, and after pulling his body out of the chest Link holds his hands into the air merrily with a small hammer that has a large, silver head and a slick looking staff held floating and spinning around between his palms. Another merry jingle plays in the air much like when Link got the Goron Tunic, much to Riku's confusion…

_Link got the __**MEGATON HAMMER! **__With it you can like, smash and break junk! Though it looks small right now though, once this description box fades it will be roughly double its size and will thus require the use of two hands to wield! _

And just like that, Link is suddenly shown grasping the handle of this gigantic hammer in both hands, carrying it forward with him as he walks away from the large chest and leaps back down to where Riku is. The Hero of Time then begins to examine the large hammer curiously, spinning it back and forth to check every last detail of it as the teenage Overlord says with his head bent down to look at the hammer "This must be the legendary hammer that Darunia and his son spoke of." "Yeah. With this, we will be able to get to and defeat Volvagia." Link says right after Riku had finished speaking, his head turning to face an oddly placed panel with the strange Goron-like face that they've seen on other architecture being prominent on the top of this stone. The Hero of Time walks over to it and swings the hammer down hard to create a shockwave that rumbles across the panel and jars it loose from the rest of the floor, causing it to sink into the hole it was covering up and opening the way to a new area.

Keeping the hammer in hand as he turns his head to face Riku, Link asks if he is coming, to which the teenage Overlord replies without hesitation just by nodding his head once. The two heroes jump down the hole and end up in a small room with only a two-tier pillared statue standing around. Instinctively, the Hero of Time walks over to the pillar and slams the hammer down beside it, the mighty shockwave released pushing against the bottom of the pillar and causing the lowest segments to detach from the rest of its form and crash against the nearby wall. Seeing half of a doorway behind the rest of the pillar, Link repeats the same method in order to destroy the second segment, thus opening the way onward for himself and his ally.

The next room has two bats, so after defying all logic and putting his hammer away somewhere safe, Link takes his sword out and cuts down the two bats as they get close, leaving the room safe for traversing as Link pulls out the hammer immediately after sheathing his blade and runs over to a nearby, seemingly inconspicuous layout of stone tiles. Seeing as there is nowhere else to go from here, the Hero of Time pounds down onto the tiles and watches as they begin to sink down one section at a time to form a perfect staircase to the doorway at the bottom…However, the doors were blocked off by several steel bars, and the switch that should be able to open the way was colored dark blue instead of sandy brown. This meant that it did something different than the other switches. Link decided to test it out in order to what it did, and after a gentle step the switch moved down and the bars rose up.

However, once the Hero of Time decided to step off the switch, the bars came crashing back down. This keyed Link and Riku in to the fact that it was a weight activated switch, meaning they needed to place something down in order to keep the bars up. "Here, let me help us out." Riku, offering his assistance, held his right hand out in front of the switch and closed his eyelids to concentrate and create a piece of lumber heavy enough to keep the switch down. From the swirling mesa of green energy in front of his palm emerges a large branch of oak that conforms to gravity and lands down onto the button with enough force to push it down and send the bars away, allowing the two heroes to advance through the door. In the next room there is a lone stone panel much like the one where the Megaton Hammer lied, and with hammer at the ready Link jumps on top of the panel with Riku standing behind him and smashes down on top of the panel to dislodge it.

The panel falls down with the two heroes standing perfectly still on it as it lands in front of the barred door on the tower the two heroes saw earlier. Jumping up onto the ledge where the door rested, Link looked to the right and saw a rusted switch that could only be activated if enough force was applied to it. With his hammer, the Hero of Time slams down upon the switch and causes it to flatten and open the way to the door beside them. The heroes enter on through, and find themselves back in the room where the one Goron needed to be rescued in. On the other side of the ledge is a faded blue block, indicating that for the moment Link would have to put away his Megaton Hammer and use the Ocarina of Time to play the Song of Time and change the block's position. After the usual blue light effect, the block warps down below to offer the heroes a way of climbing back up if they don't take care of all that they need to.

Where the block once was is another rusty switch, so the Hero of Time leaps over there and uses the Megaton Hammer to slam down upon the switch and cause the jail bars holding the Goron captive to slide away, which in turn causes the rocky creature to awaken from its slumber. The two heroes jump down and deal with the Goron's usual thanks, and mentions something about "a secret door hidden at the entrance to the temple that can only be uncovered with something stronger than their 'special crop'" After the Goron leaves, Link kicks open the nearby chest and takes the silver key out, and the two heroes backtrack through the temple until they arrive on the ledge in front of the tower door and turn to face the large pillar standing in the center of the room.

"Alright, with this we will be able to reach Volvagia's room…" The Hero of Time notes as he triumphantly grasps his Megaton Hammer and leaps over to land on top of the pillar with Riku following close behind. As the hammer is raised above his head, Link turns to face his companion and says to him "Hold on tight, its going to be a long fall!" Giving little time for the teenage Overlord to say something, Link smashes down on top of the pillar and after a brief rumble causes it to dislodge from its stand and plummet downward through the air at a rapid pace. As the pillar is heavier than the two heroes combined, Link and Riku find their feet detaching from the top of the pillar and their bodies slowly descending towards where the object is heading towards.

After a few more seconds of descent, the pillar crashes into the lava pit and causes a shockwave of magma to spread out beyond the area of its base, while the two heroes land on top of it without so much as any harm befalling them, though they both reactively kneel down to cushion most of the fall. Riku, as he pulls himself up straight, says to himself "Remind me to find out how gravity works in this world later…" While Link simply turns towards the door that Darunia went through and says in melancholy "So close, yet still so far…" The teenage Overlord glances over his right shoulder towards the Hero of Time and says "There's still that secret room that last Goron spoke of. We might be able to find the key needed to break the lock around there." Link turns around with hammer still grasped in both hands and nods his head in agreement towards Riku's theory.

The two heroes then jump across the gap to make it back to the door on the other side, opening it to find themselves at the entrance to the temple once more. After some slight exploring around the bottom of the staircase Link finds a three-tiered statue and begins using the shockwaves from his hammer to dismantle it one segment at a time until the doorway is fully revealed. The two heroes enter it and find themselves in a small square room with a few torches spread around the floor and many Torch Slug and Fire Bats waiting to be killed so the bars would become undone on the opposite door. With some coordination from Riku's blade and Link's arrows, they manage to get the enemies slain and open the way to the next room.

This room has green stone and tiles for the scenery instead of the usual brown or red ones, with some of the tiles quickly flying off the ground and after two or three spins they launch themselves at our heroes only to be cut down by Link's Master Sword. There is a pillar shaped living blob wandering around the room with a gaping mouth at the top of its form, but upon hearing Riku's advice the Hero of Time decides not to bother fighting the creature and the two heroes make their way to the closest door in order to advance. In this room is another flaming altar, this one releasing another Flare Dancer as the doors are sealed up by iron bars. However, it only takes the heroes a few seconds to slay the creature using the same method they did before, and the doorways open up.

In the next room is what appears to be the last captive Goron, and inside his cage is a large yellow golden chest with blue markings. Though the heroes knew it was important, Riku more so than Link for obvious reasons, they focused more on freeing the Goron at the moment, as the Hero of Time pulls out his Megaton Hammer and slams down upon the rusted switch to swing open the gates. The Goron awakens and gives thanks, though this time says something a little different from his brethren. "Oh? Big Brother Darunia asked you to rescue me. I owe you big time! Please help Big Brother!" He then leaves without giving any advice, though that does make sense considering how close the heroes were to fighting Volvagia. Link turns towards the chest and pushes the lid open like he did the other big chest.

A bright light flushes out as the Hero of Time reaches into the chest and quickly pulls out a large golden key with a ruby gem and devilish horns near the top. It was the key needed to enter Volvagia's room, meaning that at long last the heroes would be able to stop the monstrosity threatening the peaceful Gorons. With the key gripped tightly in Link's right hand and courageous expression gleaming across his face, the two heroes trekked through the previous rooms and went back to where Volvagia's door lied, and as they stood before it the Hero of Time said "Darunia…This will be for you." Releasing his grip on the key, Link opens the lock and watches as it breaks permanently with the chains pulling away into the door as it rises into the ceiling. Ready to face the mighty dragon of fire, the two heroes enter the room and hear as the door crashes down behind them….

_Next Time: Awakening of Fire_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Bolero of Fire Final: Subterranean Lava Dragon, Volvagia**

Outside the confines of the Fire Temple and the crater of Death Mountain itself, the volcano begins to stir violently with activity. The ring of fire surrounding the air around the lip of the crater starts to release toxic smog into the air that covers the skies and blocks the sunlight from reaching down into the peaceful Kakariko Village. The townsfolk begin to stop what they were doing and look up towards Death Mountain while murmuring quietly to one another, their minds wondering just what was going on up above without so much as a hint to the mighty creature that was ready to awaken. Volvagia would soon rise from its slumber, and without any Gorons to devour inside of its temple it would emerge through the crater it was trapped within with enough force to drag most of the volcano's magma along with him…And as it was said, Hyrule would be consumed in fire.

But there were two heroes who were at this moment ready to confront the fiery dragon inside of his chambers, with their swords at the ready and their path dictated thanks to the actions taken before by themselves and the leader of the Gorons Darunia along with the sealing of the stone door behind then. The room they were in was surprisingly dark considering the moat of lava surrounding the geyser hole filled, uneven coal platform resting in the center of the room. There was only one thing standing between Link and Riku and the large, suspicious looking platform, and that was a solitary brick column right below them. Leaping over to the column and then onto the coal platform itself, the two heroes slowly approach the center of the area from the edge and gaze upward towards the ceiling.

With how dark it was, neither one of them could tell just what lied in wait up above, except that there appeared to be a roof somewhere along the way due to the lack of light coming from outside this chamber. "Where is Volvagia?" Riku asks with his body feeling a bit tense due to the lack of their enemy's presence. Link turns his head back and forth, glancing at the four stone pillars keeping this room structurally sound while assessing the fact that the geyser holes form a 3x3 pattern across the platform just in case he needs to suddenly position himself while they are erupting. "Volvagia has to be hiding somewhere in this room, he can't have escaped yet." Link says to his ally after he was done looking around.

With the two heroes staying cautious as they take a few steps back away while glancing suspiciously at the geyser holes, the ground beneath them suddenly begins to tremble rapidly. The volcano was becoming active, but not from natural causes. The room slowly becomes brighter and gains a reddish tint as the magma flares up down below, and the column the heroes jumped upon a moment ago starts getting devoured by the intense heat coming from the magma. Now they were truly trapped on this lone platform, but neither of them felt unease as they turned away from the sinking block and looked towards the activating geysers. Once the block had vanished from view, the central geyser begins to stir and droplets of lava spout out all across the floor, and a plume of crimson smog spews across the air to signify the entrance of the mighty Volvagia.

The first sight of the dragon as it pulls itself from the central geyser reveals to the heroes a head obscured by a scorched draconic skull with coal textured eyelids and furious green eyes. As the creature spirals around and curves its flight so it begins to glide menacingly across the air the two heroes are able to observe its long, serpentine body that is given a lava-like hue thanks to the trails of superheated flames that find themselves attached to the back of his skull and take on the appearance of majestic hair. With two three-pronged claws attached about a fourth of the way between its head and tail floating beside his flying figure and an underside that has the appearance of pulsating magma being the last things of note in this creature's appearance, the two heroes prepare themselves for battle as Volvagia circles around the battlefield and opens its draconic maw to release a stream of searing flames across the ground as a show of intimidation towards the heroes.

A show of force that, in the face of these two brave warriors, fails to even make them flinch. With his initial tactic proving to be ineffectual, Volvagia spirals through the air and moves down into the geyser that is the closest to the heroes, its body digging through the magma filled underground and causing more tremors to shake the very foundations of the volcano as it makes its way towards one of the closer geysers. "Link, I don't know this creature's weak point…" Navi says with utter regret in her voice as she flies out of the Hero of Time's cap. "That's fine Navi…" Link says with his head turned towards his fairy companion and a reassuring smile matching his tone, and after sheathing his blade for the moment the Hero of Time takes out the Megaton Hammer and watches the geysers patiently for Volvagia's emergence while simultaneously saying to Navi "I think I have an idea about what to do…"

After a few seconds of waiting, the tremors die down and Volvagia re-emerges out of the bottom left geyser with its burning hair swung out in front of its face. With one strong gesture of its head the creature moves the hair behind itself and places its claws on the ground to support itself as it stares at the two heroes and appears to be assessing its prey before it strikes. Link, never one to become food for his enemies, rushes at the draconic monstrosity full force and garners a defensive reaction from the creature as its eyes widen in fear upon recognizing the hammer in the Hero of Time's hands and its mouth opens up to release a mighty stream of crimson basked flames that are meant to keep the Hylian at bay before it can strike his body. However, with quick anticipation of the creature's attack Link leaps high above the range of the flames and raises the hammer above his head, bringing it down with all the force he can muster while lifting the rest of his body up to avoid getting his boots and legs scorched by even an inkling of fire.

The head of the hammer bashes down on Volvagia's skull, hitting him with the resounding force of five Gorons and causes the bones themselves to start cracking across the surface while simultaneously bringing harm upon the creature's more delicate tendons and flesh. Volvagia's flames cease as it rears its head upright and accidentally pushes against the Megaton Hammer, sending Link flipping backwards through the air unexpectedly as the mighty dragon rests its battered head against the coal floor in order to briefly recover from the throbbing pain residing inside of his head. Seeing a prime opportunity to strike the fallen creature, Riku first turns his head and follows the Hero of Time across the heated air as it appears he was being hurtled towards the walls on the other side of the room, where after his body was pried off against his will he would surely fall into the magma.

So with a swift gesture and focused concentration on the pathway Link was being sent across, the teenage Overlord summons forth a cloud thick enough to catch the Hero of Time on his back and slowly bring him back to the safety of the main platform. However, after the initial summoning of the cloud Riku quickly turned his head away and dashed forward to take on Volvagia as the mighty dragon began to grumble and lift its head up ready to move once more. As it got partway up, the teenage Overlord swung his right arm behind himself in conjunction with his mental command to move his blade behind his head, and after a mighty grunt Riku followed up with an equally powerful swing of his sword across the air that cut across Volvagia's face diagonally and drew fiery blood from the right side of the creature's mouth as the beast roared in pain and swiftly sunk back into the geyser it came from in order to feast on the magma below and rejuvenate its wounds before coming out again.

In the interim between attacks, Riku straightened his body after leaning forward to follow through on his swing all the way while glancing back and forth across the battlefield to see where Volvagia would emerge next. The tremors returned, which Link had to become adjusted to as he jumped off the cloud his ally created for him and landed a few feet behind Riku. "Hey, thanks for saving me." The Hero of Time quickly worked up a remark of gratitude towards the teenage Overlord, which Riku responds to after briefly glancing over his shoulder "Not a problem, just avoid using the hammer in mid-air next time. You need a strong footing in order to avoid being sent flying against this beast…" Though Link was at first a bit surprised to hear his ally giving him advice during the heat of battle in such a confident manner, the Hero of Time nodded his head and said to Riku "I'll keep that in mind…" As he put the Megaton Hammer away for the moment and drew the Master Sword into the grasp of his right hand.

The central geyser in the back row starts to stir with activity as Volvagia readies itself to emerge. Thinking that the mighty dragon would rise up and put itself in a position to be struck by the Megaton Hammer once more, Link cautiously and slowly prepared to sheathe his blade while keeping an eye on Volvagia himself. However, instead of leaning claws first against the ground the dragon flies straight out of the geyser and curves its flight downward so it can get a better look at the Hero of Time with its eyes projecting an emotion of pure fury towards the Hylian for having the Megaton Hammer in his possession. Thus, with no care spent towards the teenage Overlord who also struck his skin, Volvagia widens its mouth and unleashes a torrent of searing flames aimed straight at Link.

The Hero of Time swiftly jumps to the right, his body falling to the ground as he tumbles and stands up straight in order to start running again with Volvagia hot on his trail through the sky. Riku could easily tell that Link's intentions were to direct the dragon's attention away from him by moving in the opposite direction, but the fact that the creature was out of the range of Megaton Hammer meant that Link would be unable to do anything to defend himself against the creature's might while he continued to run in front of the flames around the edge of the room. And as Volvalgia neared the back of the platform and showed no signs of slowing down, Riku quickly realized that the dragon was showing no signs of retreating back into the geysers like the teenage Overlord expected him to do.

On the other hand though, Link was beginning to slow down from continuous running, the sweat visible on his head as he passed directly in front of Riku making it painfully obvious that in a minute or two the Hero of Time would fall to Volvagia. The dragon needed to be grounded so Link would be given the perfect chance to strike the beast down, and it needed to be done fast. Looking forward with a steel glare of determination, Riku swings his right arm out beside himself and dispels his sword as many streams of lightning begin to fluctuate around the shape of his hand and make their way up his arm until they connected into his shoulder. "Hey Volvagia!" The teenage Overlord proclaims in order to grab the creature's attention as it flies above the back of the platform once more.

Taking note of his other prey's presence for the first time in quite a while, Volvagia stops spewing flames from its mouth and accidentally lets Link get enough distance between the two of them before he spins around and wonders just why the fiery dragon had diverted its attention away from him. He turns to the right and sees Riku raising his right hand high into the air with his eyes focused entirely on the guy as he boldly declared to his opponent "LIE DOWN!" and bent most of his body down to follow through all the way on his lightning empowered punch that struck the ground with all the force of a billion volt bolt and released the many streams attached to his arm along the ground. The streams merge together into five separate draconic headed entities that crawl across the floor at a rapid pace and swerve around the geysers until they are directly below Volvagia, at which point they thrust up below five different segments of the mighty dragon and wrap themselves around his serpentine form as tightly as they can.

With a sharp paralysis thrusting itself through Volvagia's body in the form of an electrical net, Riku tugs his right fist upward off the ground and pulls along the many streams connected to his knuckles, which in turn causes the fiery dragon to be forcibly pulled down onto the ground with a crash strong enough to break off most of the platform's edge. Bits of static scatter about the creature's form as paralysis still grasps onto it like an annoying parasite, and with Volvagia now defenseless on its side the teenage Overlord dispels the electricity that he summoned forth and gives the nod off to Link for him to take care of matters from here on out. The Hero of Time, impressed with his ally's feat, takes his Megaton Hammer out and rushes over to Volvagia. Remembering what happened before, Link makes sure to stay far enough away from the dragon's head as he brings the hammer down so he won't get flung away when it fully connects.

Aiming for the weakened skull, the Hero of Time brings it down with even more force than he did before due to having a firm stance on the ground. A shockwave emerges between the head of the weapon and monstrosity as most of the bone composing Volvagia's skull shatters to reveal the delicate skin flesh beneath. A roar of agony emerges from the creature's maw as the paralysis simultaneously is broken from his body, and shards of his skull ingrain themselves into the most vulnerable parts of his flesh. Before Link can take advantage of the dragon's pain to strike the creature down with the Master Sword, Volvagia roars to life and straightens its body along the ground before lunging straight at the Hero of Time with no regards for its own safety.

It was a beast driven mad by the urge to survive after it had been granted life once more, which made the creature's actions nearly unpredictable and outright dangerous to watch unfold from where Link currently stood. After the Hero of Time leaps back to dodge the lunge, he watches as Volvagia smacks its claws against the ground and pushes itself upward to regain flight into the air, where the bottom of its magma coated body nearly scrapes the top of Link's hat as it circles around towards the center of the room and in the span of three seconds thrusts its head upward to aim its open maw at the ceiling and release a torrent of flames meant to disrupt this room's structure and cause chunks of molten rock to dislodge from the ceiling and fall across the entirety of the battlefield.

After the room is basked in a bright lava-like light thanks to the intensity of Volvagia's flames, Link looks up and watches as rocks fall down all around him and threaten to bring harm upon his body if he failed to outmaneuver them. The Hero of Time leaps to the left, steps back and nearly falls off the edge of the platform, and then takes out his Master Sword to cut down one boulder that came his way. As the chunks crash and burn in the lava behind him Link watches as Volvagia lowers its mighty head and flies straight forward, curving its flight to the right so its body grazes along the wall until the front is floating above the doorway to its chamber, at which point it turns around and coils most of its body together and stares straight down with vengeful fury at the Hero of Time.

The beast had got Link right where it wanted him to be, trapped at just the right point of the platform that one lunge from him will be guaranteed to knock him off into the lava, where his flesh will be burned to the point of succulence for the mighty Volvagia. Riku could tell what the dragon's plan was, and with a worried glance over to the Hero of Time before he turned his head up to face the beast with right hand surging with electricity once more Link calls out to him with an echo from afar "Don't do anything Riku! I can handle this just fine!" The teenage Overlord turns towards the Hero of Time as he is in the midst of sheathing his Master Sword and pulling out his bow and a single arrow from his quiver. "Have you lost your mind Link?" Riku thinks to himself out of confusion towards Link's almost suicidal choice of actions against Volvagia.

The Hero of Time raises his bow, aiming the arrow straight at Volvagia's head while pulling back on the string and waiting for the fiery beast to make the first move. Link starts to sweat as his focus is put to the test, and the boulders falling around him do little to help his concentration as his mind starts to worry about what will happen if chance decides to crush him under the weight of a single rock. "Darunia's sacrifice will be in vain if I fail…" The Hero of Time thinks to himself as Volvagia's nostrils release a puff of smoke each, signifying that it was just seconds away from charging, as the boulders began to die down to leave him with an open path towards his prey. "For my Sworn Brother…I can't miss this." Link whispers to himself, bracing his feet against the ground as he locks his fingers tightly into place on the string and believes with absolute certainty that he was ready to fire the only arrow he'd be allowed to use.

Volvagia, after seconds of utter silence, finally makes its move and lunges forward across the air at a great, furious velocity. Riku exclaims the Hero of Time's name in desperation as he holds his right hand out in front of the path of the fiery dragon ready to stop it with one use of his powers. But there was one thing that stopped him from doing so, and that was that his faith in Link's capabilities. He needed to believe in the Hero of Time to pull this off, and with only a vague hint of reluctance Link draws his hand back and watches the scene unfold before him. Volvagia draws closer and closer towards Link's body, its maw widened to unleash one last intimidating roar as Link's eyelids close slightly and he stands in brave defiance of Volvagia's attempt to break him.

A "Twip!" is heard from Link's bow as he lets go of the string, the noise being muffled out by the echoes of Volvagia's roar, meaning that the mighty beast had no warning towards what was about to occur. With a precise aim directed at the open gap in the dragon's skull, Link's arrow manages to lodge itself deep into Volvagia's vulnerable flesh, the silver tip makes its way into the dragon's brain so swiftly and painfully that the mighty creature only lets out a hollow shriek before its body is immediately silenced. Volvagia loses control of its motor functions as its life comes to a sudden end, and with its inability to sustain flight the body is grasped by gravity and brought crashing down against the ground with the head only a few feet away from Link's boots.

As Volvagia's body lays lifeless on the ground, the body finds itself incapable of sustaining its own body temperature, and the searing fire that makes up its insides swiftly working against it and burn apart the skin and flesh one piece at a time. The body is consumed in crackling fires for ten long seconds, and in the end the once mighty dragon is nothing more than a skeleton lying broken apart on the ground of its chambers. Link puts his bow away silently as a portal of pure blue light begins to spawn in the center of the room above one of the geysers, and Volvagia's bones burn up in pale blue flames in front of him. With the battle now over, the Hero of Time notices Riku moving towards the portal, and though he'd like for his ally to come along with him he instead gestures with his right hand in the air to stop him and says "Riku, I need to do this alone. No offense to you, but could you wait for me outside the temple? I shouldn't be too long, alright?"

From the way Link spoke about "having to take of this himself", it was painfully obvious to Riku that the Hero of Time knew who the identity of the Sage of Fire was. Seeing as he isn't one to butt into personal affairs, the teenage Overlord nods his head and replies to Link with "Yeah, no problem here. See you in a bit Link, and good job against Volvagia." With a nod to respond to his ally's compliment, the Hero of Time steps forth across the battlefield and enters the blue portal, his body becoming encased and frozen in a see-through crystal that rises up through the air and into a powerful, translucent light that will carry him to the Chamber of the Sages. After guarding his eyes against the mighty light, Riku blinks twice and watches as everything in Volvagia's chamber starts to die down due to its master's death. The crimson glow fades out, and the lava stops boiling beneath the platform. Finally, the door the two heroes came through opens up, giving Riku the freedom to leave whenever he was ready.

After glancing back at the battlefield and letting out a tired sigh, the teenage Overlord kicks himself into the air and flies above the lava moat and through the doorway, making his way across the next room until he is forced to land and open the door to return to the entrance of the Fire Temple. Afterwards, he re-entered flight and made his way through the entrance passage and up the ladder to arrive back in the crater of Death Mountain. Remembering just where Link will end up after dealing with the Chamber of Sages, Riku walked over to the ground just a few feet behind the grey hexagon stone platform and immediately sat himself down in a criss-cross position on the ground, his hands placed against his knees as he took in a deep breath and tried to find serenity during this period of silence he was allowed to have.

"Hoo hoot! You know child, its not safe to just sit around and relax just because you defeated one of Ganondorf's monsters." A wise-sounding coo and voice simultaneously snap Riku out of his moment of relaxation as he turns his head to the right and finds someone he didn't expect standing precariously on one of the wooden posts keeping half of the bridge in place. It was a large, golden brown owl with puffy feathers on its chest, serene if somewhat piercing blue eyes, a regal pale brown beard made out of even more feathers, thin long eyebrows that extend beyond the width of its head, and every few seconds the regal creature pushes its head forward a bit out of habit. The creature went by the name of Kaepora Gaebora, but as Riku arched his eyebrows out of suspicion of the being's intentions he recalls the true name and identity of this majestic bird.

"Cut the owl act Rauru, I know who you are." The teenage Overlord says to bluntly get that issue out of the way as he stands back onto his feet and faces 'Kaepora Gaebora', who tilts his head to the right and says in a more natural, human tone of voice that still keeps the same feeling of wisdom that his prior voice did "I know you do, and that's why I'm here to speak with you Elemental Overlord." Raising his right eyebrow out of curiosity and an equal amount of concern as he slowly moves towards where the owl stands, Riku asks Rauru "Are you the one who told Shiek about me?" "I may have, or maybe it was the relic in his possession that granted him the _knowledge_ to learn of your existence." Rauru pokes his head forward slightly and tilts it to the right, humming quietly to himself before continuing to say to the teenage Overlord "Now then, I wish for you to understand something. Your knowledge of this world is toxic. You know of things that have occurred in the past and will occur in the future. Ganondorf, for all intents and purposes, could use that knowledge against the Hero of Time and we of the Sacred Realm to further his diabolical ends."

"You are talking about Shiek's true name, aren't you?" Riku immediately deduces the intention behind Rauru's respectful warning, and the owl coos in surprise before replying to the Elemental Overlord with a kindly "That is one of the reasons, yes. Please understand that I am not opposed to you being on this planet, and I understand that you didn't mean for Ganondorf to become stronger…But seeing as this is the first time an Elemental Overlord has been involved in our planet's affairs since the original's existence, I wish for you to know that you should consider being as careful as possible with how you use your mouth." Riku nods his head once Rauru had finished speaking, and in turn said to him "Don't worry about it. My plan here is to help Link get to Ganondorf, stop him, and reclaim my missing powers. I don't intend to change this planet's fate anymore then I need to."

"Thank you very much for saying that, Elemental Overlord." Rauru says with a respectful nod towards the boy. "However, I do have to ask you something. How do you know that this is the first planet I've traveled to so far?" Riku's inquiry drew silence down upon the owl, and the being's eyebrows arched downward in tune with his shutting eyelids before he said in a tone of regret "I am not at liberty to tell you about them…I'm sorry, Elemental Overlord." The use of the word 'them' caused Riku's eyelids to perk up in surprise, as from the sounds of things the Sage of Light was indirectly telling him that more than one person had their eyes on him at that very moment. Though it made the teenage Overlord feel a bit paranoid, he was interrupted by Rauru saying to him with his wings extended "I'm sorry, but I must go now. I wish you and Link well, Riku."

After removing his feet from the post, the owl flies off into the sky and departs from Death Mountain right as Link reappears from the Chamber of Sages on the hexagon platform behind Riku. Before the teenage Overlord can comment on his short meeting with Rauru, Link turns around to face his ally and says in a melancholy tone "Hey Riku…" Riku then turns to face the Hero of Time as his eyelids appear half-shut and overall his mood seems to be more sad than it was when he had left through the portal. "Link…Is something the matter?" Riku asks out of concern for Link's emotional well-being. Without answering the question, Link lifts his head up and says to his ally "…Before we head back to Kakariko village, I need to speak with Darunia's son…"

_Next Time: Depression and a Reunion_


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**Boy haven't done one of these up in a while. Anyways, I got a couple things to say here. First off, a few chapters back I accidentally forgot to fill in the dialogue for one of the freed Gorons because the internet went down for the moment and since I only had a completed save file for Ocarina of Time I couldn't go back and figure out what that Goron said...So when the next day came around I also forgot to deal with the matter then before finishing the chapter up. So yeah, sorry about that.

Second, dear god this chapter was incredibly long...Like, its the longest chapter I've unintentionally written since all the way back in Part 1, not counting the side story stuff, since those are meant to be long. Though at the very least, this only took me two days to write considering I got a late start on this chapter due to some personal matters. Glad to have that motivation back after going through too many moments of "Oh I'll just take three to four days to update a story I'm sure that will help me out". So yeah, next chapter will be a lot shorter, though I wouldn't consider length to be a fault for this one considering what plot line gets dealt with.

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Lon Lon Ranch**

With the Fire Medallion now claimed after Link's trip to the Chambers of Sages, the two heroes decide to make their way back to Goron City, with the Hero of Time being rather quiet after returning to Death Mountain's crater with a rather melancholy air surrounding him. He was planning on speaking with Darunia's son, more than likely because of something that happened when he talked with the Sage of Fire, Darunia himself. Riku wanted to ask what happened, but felt that would be rather intrusive. "Better to not get involved in his personal affairs if possible…" He thinks to himself after the two of them make their way over the broken bridge and head towards the cavern. Instead of saying anything as they made their way through the winding tunnel back to Goron City, Riku lifted his right hand up and began to test his elemental powers since he had gotten out of the Fire Temple.

A snap of the fingers brought forth a burning ember above his palm, and with a simple thought the ember transforms into a small orb filled with electricity, a plethora of leaves, an uncontained frost, a bubble of water, a hardened stone, and finally a light breeze that is blown forward past the side of Link's face. "All elements seem to be in order…" Riku says happily to himself, though his emotions stick around for only a moment as he realizes that later temples will likely make him lose some of his powers again, and that this will continue to happen until Ganondorf is stopped. The teenage Overlord folds his arms in front of his chest and lets out an aggravated sigh, which in turn causes the Hero of Time to glance over his shoulder and ask with what appeared to be little interest "Something got you down?"

"Are you really the right person to be asking me that?" Riku responded in a somewhat blunt tone of voice. Link turns around and stops in place, with the teenage Overlord doing the same as he unfolded his arms and inquired with a gesture of his right hand off to the side "What is going on Link? I didn't think that you of all people could look so down…" "…I'm not going to lie and say that nothing is wrong, but I want you to understand this Riku…" The Hero of Time lifts his head up with saddened eyes and says to his ally "I can't tell you what is going on right now, but I will after I talk to Darunia's son…Alone." Giving the not-so-subtle cue towards Riku that he didn't want him to be around when he went to talk to Link the Goron, the Hero of Time turned back around and continued on through the tunnel while the teenage Overlord walked behind him and said "Alright Link, I'll remove myself from the area while you talk to Darunia's kid." Which earned a nod of appreciation and thanks from Link.

The two heroes then make it back to Darunia's room, and immediately after encountering the bright natural light radiating from the torches they find Link the Goron standing merrily in the center of the room. He was dancing out of celebration, his hands clapping together in the air as his little legs pranced back and forth. Based on the trembling across the city, the rest of the Gorons were busy celebrating as well. This beautiful scene made the news Link planned to deliver harder to even consider saying as he watched Link the Goron stopping his dance and opening his eyelids to stare with absolute joy at the Hylian's face. "Oh Link, you've returned at last! You did it, you freed everyone from Volvagia's clutches! I can't wait until dad comes back and joins in our celebration!" At the end of the kid's sentence, Link silently turns towards Riku and nods his head, verbally giving him the cue to leave Goron City and wait for him outside until he is done.

"Hmm? What is going on Link?" Link the Goron notices the Hylian's strange, melancholy behavior that sprung up upon mentioning his dad, and though he was young he wasn't innocent enough to be fooled by the two heroes' actions. "D-Did something happen to my dad?" He inquired as he frozen stiffly in place and his eyelids sunk low in sadness. Riku quickly yet quietly walked out of the room as Link kneeled down in front of the Goron kid and said to him in a fading voice "Link…Your dad-" The teenage Overlord was out of range of the two's conversation in only a few seconds, but for once he didn't understand what was going on in this world. Link's actions were foreign to him, and at the same time concerning in regards to Darunia's fate.

As Riku climbed through Goron City and saw all the dancing Gorons that were ignorant of what was going on down below, he turned his head and paused to face two of them, thinking to himself how sad it was that their joy would soon be crushed if his suspicion about Darunia's fate was right. "…And if we don't do something about Ganondorf, things will only get worse for them." He thinks to himself before sighing and turning back to face the road ahead of him. "Volvagia was meant to be a warning to all races about how futile it was to defy him…Since that failed, he might use another race as an example of his dark powers…Ganondorf wouldn't go as far as to attack Kakariko Village nor would he use his own people…So that just leaves one race left for him to use." Thinking about the place that him and Link should check up on next as he leaves Goron City and stands on the lip of the staircase and stares out towards the bright full moon that had risen into the sky to signify the dawn of nighttime.

"…But for now, I guess we should head down the mountain and get some rest in Kakariko Village." Riku hesitantly admits as he folds his arms in front of his chest and closes his eyelids to concentrate on other things while he waits for Link to show up. "…" Save for the patterned breaths, the teenage Overlord doesn't budge or speak, leaving his body as nothing more than a statue of pure flesh that isn't swayed by the cold night breeze. Many minutes pass without any noise disrupting his pose save for the calm howl of a faraway wolf, but finally the steady movement of footsteps coming from behind awakens Riku's eyelids and causes him to glance over his right shoulder to see Link emerging from within Goron City. The teenage Overlord felt more than ready to ask the Hero of Time how things went, but as Link got closer Riku's eyelids flinched up in surprise as he saw what appeared to be traces of liquid on the side of the Hylian's face. The liquid was placed so perfectly between the bottom of his eye and chin that it was obvious that Link had released a tear or two during the conversation with Darunia's son. With that in mind, Riku saw no reason to ask anything save for "…So Link, what happened after the Fire Temple?"

The teenage Overlord still had to fake obliviousness despite how much it pained him to do so, and after he asked that question the Hero of Time lifted his head up slightly and faced his ally before saying to him "You knew as well as I did that Darunia was the Sage of Fire, didn't you?" Riku replies with a nod of his head. "…Well remember how he went to face Volvagia knowing full well that he wouldn't live? Before he died in battle, Rauru awakened him as the Sage of Fire and brought him to the Chamber of Sages to save his life." Though everything said thus far pointed towards good news in regards to Darunia's well-being, the fact that this information did not match Link's current disposition made Riku stay silent save for the simple nudging "Go on…" as he waited to see what the Hero of Time was getting at.

"When I entered the portal, Darunia and I got a chance to talk about his new position, and I learned something I wish I could forget…Every Sage that awakens becomes immortal and are granted the magical power necessary to protect this world from the Sacred Realm…But in return, they are forced to sacrifice their remaining time alive on Hyrule." Riku's eyes lit up in confusion and utter disbelief at what Link was telling him. The grave implications that went along with those statements were far too ridiculous to believe considering just who was likely responsible for making those conditions for the Sages of the Sacred Realm. "That can't be right Link. You sure Darunia didn't just mean that the Sages would be unable to return to Hyrule until Ganondorf is finally stopped?"

Riku placed all of his hope into his inquiry being true, but Link's swift shake of the head dispersed those hopes and brought despair and even further disbelief to the teenage Overlord's expression as he hung his arms out beside his body and listened to the Hero of Time as he says "No…Even after Ganondorf is defeated, they will continue to watch over the Sacred Realm in order to protect the restored Triforce…Assuming that they can even remove the Triforce of Power from the King of Evil in the first place" "That's stupid!" Riku exclaims through Link's depressed revelation, his eyes showing intense fury towards what he was hearing as the Hero of Time's eyes become rather blank and he turns to face his ally. "The Sages have to give up their lives in order to protect something that only has a SLIGHT chance of being restored? How is that fair to any of them? How is that fair to the people who cared for the Sages while they were alive? And how is that especially fair to Darunia's son, who will now live out the rest of his life without a father figure to guide him?! …If you ask me, Darunia's life wasn't saved by Rauru…"

Link's eyelids are sealed up tightly after Riku finishes his rant and turns his head away from the Hero of Time and sighs while glancing to the left. "…I don't like it either Riku, but you know why I'm not saying anything about it?" Link asks to grab the attention of his ally, who turns back around and glances over to the Hylian as he continues on and says "Look at what Ganondorf has done to Hyrule…No one can truly live in peace while his evil hand looms over the land…Do you know how hard it was to tell Darunia's son that his father would never return, and how his tears just flowed without end and broke the one bit of happiness the Gorons managed to obtain after facing fear at the hands of Volvagia's existence? If the Sages have to give up their mortal lives…Then the least you and I can do is make sure that their sacrifices are not in vain, and stop Ganondorf so Hyrule can go back to being a land of peace instead of a wasteland of sorrow and fear…"

Link turns to face Riku and says to him with his eyelids half sealed and an honest glare in his eyes "So please Riku, don't hate Rauru for what has and is going to happen with the other Sages. If the circumstances were different, you know as well as I do that he wouldn't have awakened anyone as one of the Sages of the Sacred Realm." The Hero of Time's point, so maturely crafted in its nature, struck the previously maddened Riku in his conscience and convinced him to show some acceptance towards what was happening with the Sages. After all, if Link could do it despite how close he was to the two Sages that had awakened thus far, then someone like him who shared no personal connection to them really had no reason to be so upset about the matter. "…No, you're right Link. We need to do what we can to restore Hyrule to being the peaceful kingdom it once was, and getting mad at those who are on our side is not going to help us out. " He said with the utmost honesty.

Thanking his ally for agreeing with him, the two heroes found that there was nothing else to talk about and chose their way back down Death Mountain to return to Kakariko Village before the monsters became too active. Nearing the bottom of the path that will cut off most of their view of the crater itself, Riku turns his head around and notices that the flames cresting the ring of smoke have vanished, and the skies themselves have calmed. Thankful for this event, the teenage Overlord turns back around and follows Link through the chasm until they pass the gate between the path and the village. With night having fallen, almost everyone had retreated to their houses for a good night's rest. Only the gate guard stood around, simply because it was his duty to do so.

Thankfully, despite how late at night it was, the two heroes managed to find residence in the house that Riku had been brought to by Link earlier that day. The two fell asleep on the hard if somewhat comfortable wooden beds as the village went completely silent. The teenage Overlord slept underneath the silk covers with his arms folded behind his head, his eyelids shut tightly as he tried to muster up happy thoughts and dreams inside of his mind to help make his rest feel more relaxed. It had been a long day after all, and Riku felt that he earned a good night's sleep for all that he and Link had done. But as night passed on hour by hour, the teenage Overlord began to flinch uncomfortably in his sleep, his body tormented by a nightmare that felt so real inside of his mind.

_Riku finds himself back in the same position he was during the last nightmare, only this time he knows for certain that the green man in front of him is a weakened Link and that the King of Evil was his opponent…But even now he still couldn't recognize the devilish shadow looming behind Ganondorf. The nightmare continues close to where it had ended before, with the Hero of Time standing defiantly against Ganondorf's might despite how weakened he was in comparison to his opponent. This time around though, Riku was able to open his mouth in this nightmare world and exclaimed in an echoing tone "Stop Link! Don't do it!" This exclamation was not voluntary, as evidenced by the teenage Overlord's look of surprise and slow pull back of his bruised right hand._

_Link was unable to hear him though, either because of the flames blocking most of the noise from his voice or it was the lack of strength in his voice that prevented him from being heard. The Hero of Time clasped his sword and charged forward just like before, but this time the nightmare continued beyond the point where everything faded to black. Riku catches a glimpse of Ganondorf's chilling, inhumane smile as Link leaped into the air with all of his might and drew the Master Sword above his head, and the teenage Overlord's eyes become frozen stiff in utter fear as the shadow mirrors this expression while moving his arm in unison with Ganondorf's as if the King of Evil was his puppet, and as his sword slowly crept upward…Everything once again fades to black, as a vile, squishy sound pierces the empty void of this ending nightmare…"_

Riku thrusts awake in a cold sweat as the nightmare ends, the warm light of the rising sun greeting his eyes as his heart pounds against his chest and his mouth releases a dry sounding breath at a rapid pace. The teenage Overlord swiftly works to calm himself down as he turns his head to the right and sees that Link was currently not in the bed, meaning that he had already awoken and went off to take care of something else before his ally awoke as well. Once Riku gets a grip on his sanity, he lays his hands flat on their backs and stares down at his quivering palms as a couple drops of sweat trickle off his chin and pitter down upon his skin. "Another nightmare…This one somehow telling me more yet at the same time telling me nothing…" He says to himself as he releases one more, extended breath and feels not a single other drop of sweat forming on his head.

"…Who is that shadowy figure I keep seeing in my dreams?" He asks himself, the being in question being unfamiliar in appearance despite the similarities he shared with Ganondorf. "…I wonder, could he possibly be-" Before Riku finished statement his theory, the sudden opening of the door in front of him broke his concentration on the subject and made him focus on Link and the lady that owns this house as they both come in with groceries in their arms. The Hero of Time turns his head to the left after letting out a merry laugh and upon noticing that his ally is awake he says to him "Hey, you finally awoke. Think you can help us out with breakfast? We are kind of short on help since the other resident here went off to visit a friend." Riku, despite thinking partially about his prior inquiry, merely blinked twice and nodded his head to show that he was ready to help out.

After getting up and making the bed he slept in, Riku helped Link and the house owner in making breakfast, which consisted of a healthy helping of Cuckoo Eggs and some type of toast that exists solely in Hyrule that Riku forgets to get the name of as he sits down and eats alongside Link and the house owner. The teenage Overlord's fork and hands move in an almost stagnant way, his mind too focused on his prior nightmare to invest much focus into his meal save for moving the eggs into his mouth and chewing that alongside his toast. "Link, do you think Ganondorf might be working for someone?" Riku wanted to ask the Hero of Time that question, but stopped himself simply because he knew deep down that Link wouldn't be able to answer it. So instead of going for that line of conversation, the teenage Overlord instead asks "So Link, where are we going next?"

"Hmm?" The Hylian murmurs as he pulls his wooden fork from his mouth. "I was thinking about checking up on the Zora's Domain, since we have no other real leads at the moment." Zora's Domain, the serene water filled kingdom of the human-like, amphibious creatures called the Zora that Link had mentioned visiting before to obtained the last Spiritual Stone seven years ago. It was a rather logical decision on the Hero of Time's part to head over there next, and Riku soundly agreed to it with a light nodding of his head. "You know though, the main reason I was considering heading over there was because-" As Link was just about ready to voice his reasoning behind wanting to head over to Zora's Domain, the house door swung open and hit the side of the wall so hard that the noise immediately caused everyone in the room to look at the entrance.

A very portly man wearing heavy blue overalls and a red shirt underneath stands at the doorway with his mouth wide open and his face exuding buckets worth of sweat. He pants out of sheer exhaustion, his bushy beard that wraps around his face becoming damp with moisture with every second that he stands in the doorway. "Talon? What are you doing back here so soon?!" The portly lady asks as she stands up and accidentally knocks her chair over with her backside as she walks over and catches Talon with her arms as he collapses from the sheer weight of exhaustion weighing him down. "Ha…Ha…" The portly man releases two vapid pants as he lifts his head up and sees the blank eyed red-tunic Hylian sitting at the table in front of him. Though his vision is blurred due to how tired he was, it was easy for him to tell just who he was looking at "Y-You're the fairy boy that came to our ranch seven years ago…P-p-please…Help me…"

With how tired he was, Talon was barely able to express surprise at seeing the now grown-up Link after all these years, but for Link the memory of this man was fresh and familiar to him and he quickly got to his feet and approached the portly man before kneeling down in front of him and asking in a questioning tone "What's going on Talon? What happened to you?" He spoke calmly in hopes that his tone of voice would eventually rub off on the man's emotional state and get him to speak clearly, a plan which works well enough as Talon lifts his head up and shakes it a couple times in disbelief as he explains to the Hero of Time "I-I went to visit my daughter Malon at the Lon Lon Ranch yesterday, checking up on her and making sure that Ingo wasn't mistreating her now that he owns the Ranch…"

"Wait, Ingo owns the Lon Lon Ranch now? When did this happen?" Link interrupts swiftly out of utter confusion towards Talon's remark. "…It-it happened not long after Ganondorf's take over of Hyrule…Seeing potential in Ingo's ambition to run Lon Lon Ranch, Ganondorf had his men kick me out and allowed Ingo to seize control of the ranch. Now Malon works for him, and I'm only allowed to visit her once a month so long as I don't go inside of the ranch itself…But when I went to visit this time, Ingo closed the gates to Lon Lon Ranch and told me that he is planning on giving one of our most prized horses away to the King of Evil himself! …I can't stand the thought of Ganondorf riding any of our horses, especially since despite Ingo's attitude problems he has managed to keep them all healthy and active over these last seven years…Please fairy boy, I beg of you, head to Lon Lon Ranch and save Epona before she is sent off to Ganondorf!"

The name of the horse struck Link's heart hard with disbelief, as his eyes widen and his heart skips a beat before he adopts a more serious expression and says firmly to Talon "Anything I might be able to do to get Epona away from Ingo?" "Y-Yes…Ingo loves to gamble. If you can get him to race you for Epona while putting up some form of monetary value as the prize for him, then he might just relent and let you have her…Its your best bet, honestly." Nodding his head to show that he understand what to do, Link stands back up and says to the lady in front of him "Thank you for your hospitality ma'am, but we need to get going now." Glancing over his shoulder, Link gives a brief gesture towards Riku and says to him "Riku, lets get moving! We don't have any time to waste!" And with that, the Hero of Time dashes out of the room without waiting for the teenage Overlord to even get out of his seat.

"Wait, Link!" Riku exclaims in utter confusion as he leaps from his seat and extends his right hand into the air in futility. After two seconds of silence, the teenage Overlord sprints past the table and quickly says to the lady "Thanks for the bed and meal sorry we have to go, bye!" Before he heads out of the house and increases his running speed to end up right beside the Hero of Time as he nears the entrance to Kakariko Village. "Hey Link, do you mind telling me just what the deal is with you and the Lon Lon Ranch before we arrive?" Riku asks with his head turned towards Link as the two heroes continue down the steps and make their way into Hyrule field. "Huh?" The Hero of Time mutters as he realizes that his ally was running beside him, and while occasionally breathing in through his mouth he says to him "Oh yeah, I guess I never brought this up when I told you about myself…"

"You see, when I went to infiltrate Hyrule Castle seven years ago, I met Talon's daughter Malon near the gates to the castle. She told me that her dad had gone inside to deliver Lon Lon Milk to the royal family and hadn't been seen in quite some time, meaning that he was more than likely napping. So after giving me a Cuckoo that would surely wake him up, I infiltrated the grounds of Hyrule Castle and found Talon sleeping beside some boxes he had delivered. After waking him up, he ran off in a panic back to Malon, and the two went back to Lon Lon Ranch. I went there to check up on them after obtaining the Goron Ruby, and there I got to see how things went around the ranch while also meeting Ingo for the first time…" After crossing the river bridge and dashing past the decimated gates of Hyrule Castle Town, Link lifts his head up and notices the Lon Lon Ranch up ahead and gestures towards there so Riku will see the location as well.

"Anyways, at the ranch I went to the large corral in the center of the area and met Malon again, along with a rather stubborn horse that refused to let me even get near it no matter how hard I tried. Malon called that horse Epona, and told me after a few minutes of giggling at my attempts to tame Epona that she had a song that was passed down from her mother that made Epona calm down and act like every other horse in the corral. After teaching me this song, Epona immediately trotted over to me and nudged his head against my body, and at the time I felt a very natural bond with that particular horse…Even though we never saw each other again after I left the Lon Lon Ranch." Link's head hangs low after he is done explaining himself, but as Riku smiles slightly he says to him "So this is another personal matter for you, huh?"

"Pretty much, yeah." The Hero of Time states as he lifts his head up and looks back at Riku. "We are going to save Epona, Riku. I'm not going to let her fall into Ganondorf's clutches…" With courageous determination fueling him, Link increases his running speed alongside Riku and the two heroes make their way to the small hillside leading up into the Lon Lon Ranch. After a couple of turns through the thin chasm, they arrive at the ranch itself, immediately greeted to the left by a two-story house where Talon and Malon once lived, a small wooden stable to the right where the cows live, and a sign as tall as the stable at the far end of the entrance that said "Lon Lon Ranch" in Hylian text. Stopping their run, the two heroes look around and notice how everything in the ranch seems rather normal all things considered…Even though Link couldn't shake this disturbed vibe flowing through his body at the moment.

"…Now, where is Ingo…" Link says quietly as he glances around the ranch, figuring that he would recognize Ingo right away as soon as he appeared in front of him. But before the new owner of the ranch appeared the stable door opened up, and a being slowly began to emerge from within the building. It was a girl that was roughly Link's age, yet she was an inch shorter than Riku. She wore a long white short-sleeve shirt with blue embroidery on her sleeves that was mostly covered up by her long ivory skirt. Both articles of clothing were kept in place by a leather farm belt wrapped gently around her waist, and dangling from the front of the belt is a brown cloth with some ancient Hyrule runes and a picture of the former Hyrule Castle etched on in white. Draped over her shoulders and partially in front of her chest is a yellow silk cloth that is tied together at two corners by a strange golden brooch. On her feet are brown leather boots that are more suited for farm work than adventuring like Link's are. After she turns around upon closing the door behind her, the girl turns around and the heroes get a better look at her face. She has dark blue eyes and a rather mature looking face that manages to express innocence and hope despite her current age. Her hair, which drapes thickly behind her head while two thin bundles rest in front of her ear lobes, glistens lightly as the sun shines down upon it and makes the red-orange coloring appear as beautiful as that a rising sun.

Upon noticing the two heroes, this beautiful if somewhat work-weary woman's eyes widen in surprise, and she says with respect towards their sudden appearance "Oh…Some visitors!" Composing herself just like a regal lady would, the girl folds her hands in front of her waist and with a smile on her face she continued on to say "Its been quite a while since someone besides my dad showed up to visit our ranch…" With a saddened look in her eyes, the girl then says to the hears in a melancholy tone "Ever since Ganondorf took over and the field became a wandering ground for monsters, nobody tries to come here…The only reason we are still around is because Mr. Ingo wants to earn Ganondorf's favor by giving him a valiant steed to ride…" Letting out a little sigh, the girl perks her head up and says to the heroes "Though everyone appears to turning evil these day, you two gentlemen definitely look trustworthy…"

The girl regains her gentle smile and stares at the two heroes, though in particular she moves her head up and down to look at the red tunic wearing Hylian as suspicions begin to arise inside of her about the man's identity. Likewise, Link looks over this girl, and though he wants to immediately say the person's name because of how obvious it was the Hero of Time instead found himself strangely attracted to the woman's appearance. She just had this…natural, mature beauty to her that distracted Link despite him not understanding just why he is feeling this way about this woman. Riku was also looking at the girl, but saw her as more of a big sister figure instead of having a natural attraction towards her like what was going on with Link. But after the three characters stare silently at each other for seconds on end, the girl and Link break the tension simultaneously, each one saying something different to the other "Have I met you before?" "You're Malon…Right?"

The girl, who upon reacting to Link speaking her name can now be identified as Malon, reacts with surprise towards the Hylian's comment with her eyes widening and her body pulled back slightly. The Hero of Time, on the other hand, is a little more embarrassed to speak to Malon considering his prior thoughts, but after seeing her reaction he tries to compose himself to show the same level of maturity as she has thus far. "Y-You know my name?" Malon stutters in disbelief, yet finds comfort amidst that feeling as she begins to realize that her earlier suspicions may be right on the mark. With eager eyes glaring at the Hylian's face, she chooses to ask one question to definitively determine the identity of the red tunic 'stranger' "Please, can you tell me your name?" "My name is Link." The Hero of Time says after a moment of hesitation.

Malon's eyes immediately light up with joy and surprise as a smile creeps along her face "I knew it! You're that fairy boy from seven years ago! And you still remember my name after all this time, too." As the girl opens her eyelids and stares merrily at the now grown-up fairy boy, Link thinks about her comment about 'remembering' and finds himself once again reminded of the fact that by all means, he had just seen Malon a few days ago. "Yeah, I'm actually more surprised that you remember me considering I only showed up here once before…" Link says, which is responded to with an innocent chuckle from Malon. "Hee hee…Well if I have to be honest, I almost didn't recognize you. I mean, you've grown up quite a lot since we last met." Malon's cheeks become somewhat red out of embarrassment towards noting Link's more mature appearance.

"Yeah, so have you." Link says, which causes Riku to roll his eyes simply because of how cheesy that response sounded. With Malon's cheeks becoming redder for just a second before she composes herself, she looks up at Link and asks him "So who is your friend?" She now asks out of courtesy, since she realized how rude it was for her to ignore the other person's presence for as long as she had been. Seeing a proper opportunity now to introduce himself, the teenage Overlord steps forward and extends his right hand out gracefully while saying to Malon "My name is Riku Mew, though I'd prefer to just be called Riku. I'm currently Link's travel buddy, though I suppose it would be better if Link himself explained just what we are up to right now." Midway through the sentence, Malon extends her own arm out and gracefully shakes Riku's hand, saying once he is done "It is always a pleasure to meet one of Link's friends."

After introductions and reunions have been dealt with, Link quickly explains what happened to him since he left Lon Lon Ranch seven years ago, though he skips over the part about his long sleep. Once everything is all said and done, Malon breaths a heavy sigh of relief and says to the heroes "Oh, I'm so glad that my dad is alright. I was actually kind of worried when he didn't show up yesterday…And thank you for coming here to try and save Epona." Once she has shown appreciation towards Link's kind-hearted endeavor here, Malon turns to face Riku and asks with a curious look in her eyes "So what is your story?" Though he is taken back a bit by the lady's question, Riku simply folds his arms in front of his chest and begins to say "Well you see, I'm-" "MALON! What are you doing out of the stable?"

An abrasive, rather snooty voice echoes across the ranch and stops Riku from explaining himself to Malon as she freezes up in surprise and turns around to face the man who called to her. Standing underneath the Lon Lon Ranch sign post is a rather lanky man wearing a regal red vest with blue jeweled sleeves attached to it, tight white pants that showed off his rather boney kneecaps, green flat socks on his feet, and a puffed white royal collar around his neck. With the way the man's eyebrows were raised along with his rather arrogant choice of clothing, Riku couldn't help but let his eyelids sag in disbelief towards this man while thinking to himself "God Ingo really looks like a gigantic prick in person…"

After looking forward with a condescending glare, the man called Ingo moves forward one slow step at a time so his guests can bask in his glory. Though Link's rolling eyes and Riku's struggle to avoid bursting into laughter proved how silly Ingo's actions truly were. Once the man steps beside Malon with his head looking away from the two heroes the lady says to her boss "We have company here Mr. Ingo, and they-" "Yes yes Malon I know we have company here, but your idle conversation with them is not making me any profit now is it?" Ingo says with no regards towards Malon's kindness, which slightly angers Link as the girl sulks her head away from looking at Ingo and says reluctantly "No Mr. Ingo, it isn't…But these two came here to check out our horses and-"

Immediately Ingo's eyes lit up and in contrast to how he was behaving before he decided to pay attention to the two heroes as he folded his arms behind his back and said to them "Well now, I suppose I can allow you both to see our selection of horses…For 10 Rupees each." Though Malon appeared outraged and surprised that Ingo was charging the two heroes just to look at their horses, she doesn't get a chance to express her feelings as Link quickly says "Deal." As he reaches into his money bag and tosses four blue Rupees over to Ingo, who catches them with a simple gesture of his right hand through the air. Upon staring at the Rupees Ingo's eyes are overcome with the glazed sensation of lust and greed, a feeling that lasts too abnormally long before he pockets his profit and looks back up at the heroes with the same air of arrogance he had before. "Anyways, come with me and I'll show you our corral…"

Following Ingo as he turns around and walks towards the large sign post, Link and Riku enter the largest part of the Lon Lon Ranch and head over to the fenced in area at the center of this field, where a healthy herd of horses can be seen standing around grazing on the fresh grass spread around. Malon follows the heroes closely behind, since she wants to see what Link plans to do to free Epona. Ingo opens the gates and allows the two heroes entrance inside before he shuts the gates and stands in front of them with his arms folded behind his back as usual and his eyes focused on the heroes. "I shall give you a minute to find and ride a horse of your choosing. When time is up, you'll have to pay me another 10 Rupees to go again."

After telling the heroes about the limit they had to find Epona, Riku and Link walk out of hearing range of Ingo and the teenage Overlord whispers jokingly to the Hero of Time "I can see why nobody comes here anymore…Ingo is a rip-off artist." "Yeah, but that very greed of his will be just the key we need to free Epona…" Link then responds. "Just let me handle things for a bit, alright?" Gesturing behind himself with his right hand, the Hero of Time steps forward as Riku stands in place and watches to see what the Hylian plans to do. Link walks across the grass, carefully moving his head back and forth to try and find Epona amongst all the other horses. Near the northern edge of the corral is a crisp orange-brown horse wearing a leather saddle, whose pure white hair extends from the top of its head down to the bottom of the backside of its neck. Link recognized the horse as Epona, his eyes lighting up with familiarity as he slowly approaches the grazing horse and watches her lift her head up to see the approaching 'stranger'.

Freaking out at the sight of this person nearing her, Epona quickly trots off to the right to get away with the occasional glance behind her to see as the mysterious person ends their pursuit immediately. She then lowers her neck back towards the grass and continues grazing, while Link quickly remembers what to do with Epona and reaches into his tunic to pull out the Ocarina of Time. With his eyelids closed and his lips wrapped around the mouthpiece of the instrument the Hero of Time begins to play the harmonious melody that Malon taught him the last time they met. Epona freezes in place as the notes enter her ears, and as she lifts her head up from the ground and turns to face the Hylian she suddenly recognizes him as the fairy boy that previously played the song for her all those years ago.

Despite the familiarity she now has with the Hylian, Epona trotted over to him slowly, her hoofs pattering closer and closer along the grass until she is but a few feet away from Link, at which point the Hero of Time stops playing his Ocarina and puts it away so he can extend his right arm out and pet Epona gently along the front of her face. The horse purrs roughly out of happiness as she lowers her head slightly and continues to let Link rub her. After establishing a gentle bond between the time of them, the Hero of Time nods his head and walks by Epona's side, proceeding to climb up on top of her saddle with his legs hanging over both side of her and his right hand lowering down to pet the side of her face. Now that he was able to ride Epona, Link asked her to trot over to Ingo for a moment, and with an understanding nod the horse turned and moved to where Ingo was currently standing. By this point almost a minute had passed, but Ingo raised his eyebrows in intrigue as he saw Link riding that horse rather efficiently.

"Say kid…Are you interested in that horse?" He asks, hoping to find profit in the Hero of Time's decision as his eyes glistened brightly. Link nodded his head, and said to Ingo in turn while gesturing with his left hand "I challenge you to a race Ingo. If I win, I get to take this horse with me free of charge." Ingo laughed as the Hero of Time put up his challenge offer, and said in a haughty tone of voice "Really now? And what is in it for me if I win, hmm?" "Every last bit of money I have on me. So if you win, you'll get 979 Rupees." Upon mentioning the value of money that was on the line for him, Ingo's heart nearly went into cardiac arrest as he widened his eyes as far as humanly possible and his mouth opened up and began to salivate. If it was possible, his saliva would have created a waterfall from his mouth to the ground. With a violent stammering of his words Ingo tried to compose himself while saying in a raspy voice "9-9-9-9-979 R-R-R-Rupees? That's…That's almost a king's ransom!"

"So do we have a deal?" Link asks. "Without a doubt, boy! Just let me saddle up on one of my horses!" Opening the gates to allow him and his company to leave the corral, Ingo quickly departs to get on his personal horse while Link trots out on Epona's back and Riku follows behind him. After telling Malon to move off to the sides, the teenage Overlord walks over to Link and asks him "You haven't even rode a horse before, have you?" "No, but if I have to be honest I feel as though I know what to do in spite of that." Link replies as he gently rubs the side of Epona's face and the horse neighs happily in turn. "Well then, I wish you the best of luck." Riku then quietly moves out of the way as Ingo arrives beside Link on top of his beefy dark brown stallion. The two racers are behind a white line painted along the ground, and with his eyes turned towards Link with a greedy glimmer in them still he says "One lap around the track will determine the victor."

After agreeing to the rules with a single nod of his head, Link turns and faces the way ahead of him while Ingo counts down to the beginning of the race "3.…2.…1!" The greedy man commands his horse to dash off between the last two numbers, giving him a head start as Link gently slaps the side of Epona's body and tells her to "Giddyup!" along the racetrack. With a mighty sprint the horse quickly catches up Ingo as they round the corner and head around the short curve towards the backside of the corral, where Ingo's horse picks up speed alongside Epona and the two horses move along almost like a blur. Eventually though the two horses have to slow down to round the curve, though Link has the benefit of being inside the curve, which allows him to slowly push ahead much to Ingo's disgust and anger. But he is unable to do anything to stop Link as he dashes around the last corner and with one large gallop Epona crosses the finish line and quickly begins to slow down. Riku kept track of how long it took Link to do a full lap around the course, and managed to come up with a time of 27 seconds to the mark. Naturally, he whistled at this endeavor and thought to himself "Not bad for a first timer Link…"

After Ingo crosses the finish line, it appears as if he is ready to blow a blood vessel as he dismounts from his horse and stands on the ground. His face was absolutely red with rage, but that didn't mirror his body's actions at all as he folded his arms calmly behind his back and began to walk across the ranch until he made his past the underside of the sign post. Malon looked over at Ingo as he turned around in front of her and she asked him "Umm…Mr. Ingo?" After a period of eerie silence as Link rides Epona closer to where Ingo is at, the ranch owner blows his lid and grips his hands around the sides of his hair and appears ready to tear it all off as he shakes his body around violently and lets out his frustration in the form of a very angered growl. "GAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"What is up with that horse?! …That's Epona, isn't it?! How in the name of the Great Ganondorf did you manage to tame that wild horse right under my nose?! I was going to give that horse to Ganondorf…But then I bet it on a race and lost! Shoooot!" As the anger and disbelief at his own stupidity overwhelms him, Ingo suddenly freezes in place and takes a few calm breaths, his arms folding behind his back as he stared at the Hero of Time with a condescending glare and laughed chilling "Hah ha hah…As I promised, I'll give that horse to you…However…" Extending his arms to wrap his hands around the sides of two metal grates much to the horror of Malon, Ingo smirks and exclaims "I'll never let you leave this ranch!" With a swing of his arms the man closes the large metal gate underneath the sign post as hard as physically possible, his hands immediately moving towards the lock to shut it while he chuckles insanely to himself.

Epona neighs and rears back in anger towards Ingo as Link glares down upon the ranch owner out of utter disgust towards his poor sportsmanship. "Hey! You can't do that!" He exclaims as Epona clops against the ground. Ingo lifts his body up and grins, replying to the Hero of Time with "I can do whatever I want here! Its my property and therefore I have the legal right to do whatever I want with it! And don't even think about knocking the gate down, or I'll tell the great Ganondorf about your presence here!" Link's eyebrows slant in anger as Ingo lays down the ground rules, but then they perk up in surprise as he glances behind Ingo as notices Malon approaching slowly with a pitchfork in her hands. "That's enough Mr. Ingo! Let them go right now!" She declares bravely at her boss while keeping her hands gripped tightly around the wooden handle of the pitchfork.

Ingo glances over his shoulders, his insanity causing him to take Malon's threat lightly as he guffaws and says to her "You dare raise arms against me?! Such…INSOLENCE!" Before he exclaims that last word, he turns his body around and slaps Malon across the face with the backside of his left hand, the blunt force of his blow causing her grip to loosen on the pitchfork as her body is flung against the side of the stable, which causes Epona's eyes to widen in shock as Link snaps and exclaims out of overwhelming concern "MALON! Ingo, you bas-" "Link, don't do it." Before the Hero of Time did something he would most surely regret, Riku stopped him with a few calmly spoken words. The teenage Overlord walks closer to Epona's side, his eyelids shut to avoid revealing to Link how he feels right now about before he says "There's another way out of here. Just get outside of the ranch and I'll join you in a few minutes, alright?"

Though it took Link a moment to calm down and truly hear his ally out, when he finally focuses on the environment around him he looks behind himself and sees a large wood wall with metal spikes that Epona more than likely could leap over if he built up enough speed. After lowering his head down beside his horse's ear and whispering his plan into it, the Hero of Time looks up and nods at Riku to thank him for the idea, and turns Epona around to face the wall. With a single gentle slap of his right hand against the side of Epona's body, the horse gallantly galloped across the ranch and headed towards the wall as Ingo raised his eyebrows and said "What is that fool doing…" But his suspicions will almost become another heart attack as with great speed and strength Epona kicks off the ground and leaps straight over the wall, her body landing down upon the slanted hill outside the ranch and trotting carefully down into Hyrule Field to safety.

Ingo's eyes widen in disbelief of what he just witnessed, and with his face turning red with anger he stamps his right foot against the ground and says "UNBELIEVABLE! This cannot be allowed to stand! The great Ganondorf will hear about-" Before he can finish, Ingo hears the violent creaking of metal in front of him and opens his eyelids to witness the gate being bent out of place as Riku stands behind it with his right arm outstretched with his eyelids still shut tight. Using his power over the earth, the teenage Overlord takes the metal gate out from its binding and lifts it into the air while crumpling it all together to form a gigantic ball of metal that barely nicks the bottom of the sign. Taking a couple ominous steps forward, Riku moves the ball forward until its hovering directly above the now frightened Ingo.

Finally, the teenage Overlord opens his eyelids and shows an expression of absolutely revilement and anger towards Ingo for his actions here today, and with a partial scowl on his face he firmly tells the man "Do you think you can simply get away and tell Ganondorf what happened here? What do you think he will care about more? Your begging, or the fact that you failed to bring him the horse he wanted…And if I may bring up, you somehow didn't even know which horse was Epona in the first place! I mean come on, she is the only member of the herd that is brightly colored and has a saddle! …And how dare you hit Malon after all she has done for you. You took over her family's ranch, threatened to abuse the horses she so kindly raised all these years, prevented her father from coming to visit her, and despite all of this she still treated you with more respect than you honestly deserve!"

As Riku lets Ingo have every last piece of his mind, the frightened ranch owner merely cowers at the sight of the gigantic ball of metal hovering above him and stammers out "Y-You can't kill me…I-I am the only one with the ambition to keep this place running!" "…While its true that you have ambition, you have centered that very ambition around nothing but self-satisfaction and greed…And no, I'm not going to kill you." Moving his fingers back through the air, Riku moves the ball of steel behind himself and uses his powers to uncurl the metal back into its original form, without a single bit of the structure damaged and the lock put back into its regular location. After locking the gates back beside the two buildings, Riku calms down and looks over at Ingo as he shivers out of cowardice. With his eyebrows arched the teenage Overlord says at a warning "You need to realize what type of world you live in Ingo. Its best not to anger the wrong people, cause if I didn't say anything Link definitely would have rammed through the gate and make you pay for harming Malon…And now you have to worry about Ganondorf's judgment once he finds out about what you did here."

"Oh no…" Ingo realizes in abject horror just how right the boy was, and with his body quivering in fear over what the King of Evil could possibly do to him the man collapses knee first onto the ground and goes dead silent. Riku then turns to Malon as she awakens from Ingo's blow and lifts her pained head up and murmurs to herself while the teenage Overlord extends his right hand out towards her and says "Hey Malon, you were asking me earlier just what my story is, right?" The girl blinks twice, her head slightly disoriented by the blow to it as she mutters out "Yeah…Why?" Riku, after carefully moving his right hand closer to avoid touching Malon's chest, places his glowing fingertips on the side of her face and uses the healing magic derived from his light element in order to undo the damage done to Malon's head over the span of five seconds.

Malon's disorientation completely vanishes much to her surprise, but as Riku draws his hand back suddenly and stands up some sweat trickles down his face. He is exhausted after expending some of his life energy in order to heal the girl's pain, but he doesn't release heavy breaths as he says to her "Plain and simple, I'm the Elemental Overlord, a good guy just like Link." Malon uses her strength to get on her feet and pick the pitch fork up, her eyes staring blankly in disbelief towards Riku as he then says to her "I don't want any thanks for saving you though. In the end, Link did more to help you than I did. He freed Epona, put Ingo in bad graces with Ganondorf, and most importantly he gave you the perfect opportunity to go find your dad and bring him back to the ranch so things can go back to normal around here."

Glancing off towards the sky for a moment while being humble about his contributions here today. After a couple seconds he nudges towards the exit to Lon Lon Ranch, and when Malon realizes what the teenage Overlord was getting at she immediately drops her pitch fork and makes a dash towards the exit. Before she leaves, she turns around and says in a haste "Thank you very much Riku, and tell Link that I will forget what he did here for us!" And then she leaves, as Ingo continues to stammer on the ground and Riku walks past him to go find Link outside of the Ranch. Not long after making his way down the hill, he turns to the right and finds the Hero of Time riding proudly on top of Epona. After getting his new horse to stop in place, Link says to his ally "So did everything turn out ok?" Riku nods his head and says "Yeah. We saved the Lon Lon Ranch…But now, its time to get back on track…" Link nods his head in agreement and turns to the right while nudging Epona to do the same, and both heroes stare towards their next destination…Zora's Domain.

_Next Time: The Frozen Kingdom_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Fall of the Zoras**

A few minutes after departing from Lon Lon Ranch with Epona now free from being on a one-way road to Ganondorf, the Hero of Time had his new partner trot slowly across Hyrule Field as he and Riku headed towards the Zora River. Every now and then the Hero of Time would lean down and graze Epona's face, the horse neighing happily as she clopped her front left hoof against the ground and paused in place to enjoy the warm feeling her new owner caused her to experience. "I'm glad you're safe and sound now, Epona…" Link spoke to her with the utmost respect towards her newfound freedom, making certain not to think of her as a mere steed but rather as an old friend that he had reunited with after a very long time. "See Link? It is possible to help someone out without anyone sacrificing themselves to get the job done." Riku notes as he walks beside the horse and her Hylian rider, a smile on his face as he shares in the two's happiness with folded arms before his chest.

"Yeah…I do actually feel a lot better about things now that we rescued Epona." Link said in a relaxed tone of voice as he lifted his body up and helped guide Epona forward towards the coursing river off in the distance. "So do you think you'll be able to handle seeing the rest of the sages if they end up being people you got to know when you were young?" Riku asks with subtlety in regards to his own knowledge. The Hero of Time nods his head, saying to his ally "I more than likely will be able to." With the utmost confidence in his own words. "Then we should have no trouble from here on out…Though I wish to ask, what do you plan to do with Epona once we get to Zora's River?" Recalling that the paths beside the river itself would prove hard to traverse on horseback, Riku watches as Link tilts his head up and starts thinking to himself about what to do with Epona when they arrive.

"Hmm…That's a good question. We can't take her with us, but we can't let her stay by herself can we now?" "Not while there's a slight chance that Ganondorf might care enough about Epona to try and claim her for himself." With both heroes unable to figure out a plan on what to do with Epona as they near their destination, Navi pops out from behind Link and with her body hovering between both of them she says "The thing is that with Ganondorf's forces having control over most of the land, there is really no safe place for Epona to go if he wanted to claim her as his steed." "…Actually, that's not exactly true." Link speaks out much to everyone else's surprise as Epona is asked to stop in place just a few feet away from the flowing river via a gentle stroke of the mane by the Hero of Time.

Link carefully gets off of Epona, walking over to the front of her body and gracefully brushing her face as she purrs before he takes two steps back and looks straight into her eyes, pulling out his Ocarina of Time and holding it an inch below his face while saying to her "Listen to me Epona. Riku and I are going to head up this river, and we don't know how long it will take us until we return here. I'm worried about you being left alone though, so I want you to head for a safe location to the west of here. After a good half an hour of sprinting, you should find a hidden passageway obscured by two giant trees. Through the log tunnel you'll arrive at the bridge in the Lost Woods, and from there you'll arrive at Kokiri Village. You won't run into any trouble there so long as you stick around, I promise."

Epona, despite understanding Link's concerns and orders, lowers her head and gentle brushes the front of her face against her rider's chest and neighs sadly at the fact that they'll be parting so soon after she had been freed. Cracking a gentle smile as Epona draws her head back to where it was before, the Hero of Time says in a reassuring tone of voice "Don't worry about it Epona. We will see each other again. Just listen for my song in the wind…" Placing his lips around the mouthpiece for his Ocarina, Link closes his eyelids and focuses entirely on playing the harmonious melody that Epona had come to recognize. As it is played and heard by all here, Navi lets out a light sigh that Riku hears due to his close proximity with the fairy, and with a curious turn of the head he watches as she flaps her wings slowly in melancholy.

Wondering just why the fairy was feeling this way, Riku whispers towards her "What's on your mind Navi?" Flinching and flapping her wings rapidly in shock that the teenage Overlord caught her shift in emotions, Navi embarrassingly turned back and forth while insisting towards the boy "Its n-nothing Riku! It would be none of your business if there was something anyways!" Before Riku can say anything else, the fairy flutters away back over to Link as 'Epona's Song' comes to an end. Figuring that he could probably ask Navi about her problems later when she isn't so antsy, Riku merely shrugs his shoulders for now as he hears Epona neigh happily and nudge her face against Link one last time to thank him for the song. As the Hero of Time puts the Ocarina of Time away, Epona slowly turns away and with one proud buck of her front hooves she gallops across Hyrule Field to head towards Kokiri Village for her own safety.

"That was rather sweet of you Link…" Riku says as he walks closer to the Hylian with arms held beside his body. "But do you think the Kokiris will handle Epona's appearance well?" He asks with a tilt of his head to the right. Link nods, replying to his ally with a gesture of his right hand "They should. Epona isn't actually a violent horse, and the Kokiri are an innocent race." After turning around and observing the river behind him, the Hero of Time says to change the subject "Lets get moving, we got a bit of walking to do still." Agreeing with what was said with a nod of his head, Riku follows Link as the two of them walk through the currently shallow river and make it to the elevated strip of grass and stone on the other side.

With a swerve to the right the two heroes cross underneath a thick stone overpass and truly arrive at Zora's River. The land is lush with dewy grass and smooth rock faces, and the river flows smoothly with fish swimming around without a care in the world as the sun beats down upon them and causes their scales to glitter. Link, after taking a brief moment to check and see if anything has changed around this area since he last went through, continues onward with his ally in tow behind him. "Anything I need to know about this area, Link?" Riku inquires as he folds his arms behind his head and alternates between looking forward and staring up towards the bright afternoon sun. "Yeah, don't fall into the water or you'll be dragged back to the begi-" As the Hero of Time takes his sword and cuts down a particularly thick bush that was blocking their way, he pauses and realizes the stupidity of his advice and as Riku smirks nonchalantly he turns around and says with a hint of embarrassment in his voice "Oh right, the pull of the river isn't a problem for you, is it?"

"Not unless I hit my head and fall unconscious." The teenage Overlord jokingly replies with a smile on his face. "Well, we shall try and avoid that then…" Link says with a tone that expresses slight disbelief at how easy-going Riku sounded as he said that rather perilous response. The two heroes then moved on again, with Link keeping his sword out as they passed a broken wall and saw that their way on this side of the river was blocked off by a large steel black fence. "Geez, this old thing is still up?" Link bemoans as he sheathes his blade for the moment and rubs the back of his head. "Do you want me to move it out of the way with my earth powers?" Riku asks while slowly moving his hand up ready to perform the aforementioned task. Link turns his head and says with his eyebrows raised in realization "Oh, so that's how you got out of Lon Lon Ranch? Still, no need to use your powers here. I got another way…"

Heading towards the one part of this side of the river where a patch of humid dirt lied, the Hero of Time leaped across the river and landed on the other side, with Riku following him soon after once he lowers his arms. The two heroes then move onward, continuing to jump over the river whenever necessary and dodging the projectiles of the continuously emerging hard, dark red creatures called Octorocks until they make it to a winding pathway with a dipping wooden bridge and a curved incline leading them towards an intersected series of risen grassy pathways that float before a large rushing waterfall. After following Link to the farthest path that lies just beyond a single jump, Riku leans his head forward and notices a passage behind the waterfall. "That's where Zora Domain is, right?" He is quick to ask as he draws his body back and turns to notice the Hero of Time pulling out his Ocarina and nodding.

"Just give me a second and I'll deal with the waterfall." Link says as he moves his mouth towards the Ocarina and closes his eyelids in preparation for the song. Though it would have been just as easy for Riku to split the waterfall, the teenage Overlord believed that perhaps his powers wouldn't work on it, and that Link thought the same thing and thus didn't bother to bring the point up. This time around, the Hero of Time played a different melody, this one sounding much like a slow lullaby. From this lullaby, Link ends up causing the waterfall to split down the middle from the top down to the bottom of the passage itself, a slow yet rewarding process seeing as the heroes now are allowed to enter Zora's Domain. But as the way is opened, Link slowly moves the Ocarina away from his face as he feels a rather unnatural breeze flowing towards him. "…Why does it suddenly feel cold around here?" He asks.

Riku knew the answer to that question, but said nothing besides "It might have something to do with the sudden splitting of the waterfall." It was a rather stupid thing to say considering Link's past experience here, as proven true when the Hero of Time replies with a rather doubtful raise of the eyebrows "No, I didn't feel anything like this the last time I was here." Concerned for the well-being of the Zoras, the Hero of Time puts his Ocarina away and quickly leaps across the gap between the pathway and the passage with Riku following close behind, and once on the ground Link sprints forward to enter the domain and find out just what exactly is going on inside. There is a brief interim of darkness between locations, but when light flushes through the eyes of the heroes and they stop in place the Hero of Time finds himself both shocked and frightened by what he sees.

The majestic Zora's Domain, once filled to the brim with radiant waters and crystalline rock walls, is now almost completely shrouded in an apocalyptic layer of ice so thick that it affects the very climate of this cavernous domain and causes bits of snow to fall from the now frosted ceiling. The waterfall has become a gigantic crystal pillar with a frosted plateau at the bottom supporting it. Link walks past the nearest sign and kneels to look down at the frozen lake where the Zoras once swam. With how thick the ice was, it was difficult at first for the Hero of Time to find any trace of life underneath, but when he finally saw the shadow of a creature he was deeply disturbed by the fact that what he saw was a Zora that was clearly alive yet incapable of moving from where its body had been frozen. "…Ganondorf…" Growling in anger as he clenches his right fist against the ground, Link curses the King of Evil for what he has done here.

Riku stands back and allows the Hero of Time to release his anger for a brief period of time, and he watches as Link gets back onto his feet and turns around to face him and declaring "Use your fire powers to melt the ice Riku!" The teenage Overlord is surprised by how blunt Link is being with him, but with a bad feeling looming over him at the moment Riku can't help but point out to the angered Hylian "Link, I don't think it's a good idea to-" "Riku, we can't let the Zoras stay like this! Do something before they die from the cold!" Link's voice was dripping with desperation towards the condition of the Zoras, which actually broke the teenage Overlord's caution in this situation and after a couple bats of his eyelashes and a moment to think Riku decides to step forward and try to do something about the ice in Zora's Domain.

With flames crisp and bright swirling around his arms as they lash out reactively against the air itself because of the snowflakes tainted by the darkness of Ganondorf's magic, Riku focuses with all of his might on the frozen domain and uses his fire to spread heat through the area in hopes of overriding the unnerving chill and freeing the Zoras from their fate. But after only a few seconds of trying, the teenage Overlord feels a sharp pain going through his arms as his flames retract into his body through the shoulders and dark sparks emerge across his limbs to punish him for his attempts at defiance. Riku merely flinches, but chooses not to go any farther now that the King of Evil had issued his warning clearly. "Ganondorf definitely made sure that I wouldn't take the easy way out…" He thinks to himself as he draws his arms back towards his body and turns around to face Link as he sighs calmly and says "Yeah, I guess I should have seen this coming…"

"Even if I was able to pull it off, the heat required to do so would more than likely boil the Zoras alive. We need to probably break Ganondorf's curse on this area through some other method." "But what exactly can we do?" Link asks in bewilderment, his eyes glancing straight towards his ally at first before something moving behind him catches his attention and he tilts his head to see just who or what is wandering around this frozen domain. Though the person made their presence known for only a second before sprinting up the incline leading to where the royal Zora family lies, Link could tell right away that it was Shiek who he saw. "…What is Shiek doing here?" The Hero of Time inquires towards Riku, and the teenage Overlord swiftly turns around after a brief glimmer of confusion towards the Hylian's question.

"That's…actually a good question Link. Maybe he knows what to do about this place." Agreeing with Riku's statement with a simple nod of his head, the Hero of Time quickly makes a dash to the right along the somewhat slippery rock surface as he winds around the domain to go to where he saw Shiek with Riku following close behind as usual. The teenage Overlord glances over at the frozen Zoras, his eyelids slanting with guilt as he thinks to himself "If I hadn't lost to Ganondorf…Or encountered him at all in the first place, then perhaps I would have been able to save the Zoras now. I could have thought up a way to deal with the boiling water issue, I just know it…" After lamenting his lack of usefulness in this area as of now, Riku turns his head back and begins to climb a rather long staircase up towards a room shrouded by a light, crystalline fog.

Link arrives at the top five seconds before Riku does, and thus he has more time to take in the unusual yet foreboding sight sitting in front of his line of sight. Trapped in a gigantic red block of ice that is stuck firmly inside of frozen, miniature waterfall is a Zora that is three times the height of Link yet more than likely ten times as heavy. This Zora wore a regal red cape and had a thick golden crown on his head with a gemstone in the center that match his sliver pupil eyes. It didn't take a genius to determine just who this person was. He is the mighty ruler of Zoras Domain, a master of the waters surrounding Hyrule, and an all-around jolly fellow…King Zora. With everything that he had witnessed up until now, Link wasn't all that surprised upon seeing that the King had been trapped as well. What he did, however, was take interest in the fact that he had been trapped inside of a different type of ice than the rest of the Zoras.

"Navi, what is this red ice?" The Hero of Time asks his fairy companion about the material first and foremost, and with a joyous flutter Navi flies out from nowhere and moves towards the frozen cage keeping King Zora in place. After careful observation, Navi exclaims to her friend "I'm sorry Link, I have no idea what this is. Its not something from this world though, that's for certain." Humming to himself for a moment, the Hero of Time then turns around and asks Riku "This is your field of expertise, what do you think the ice is?" Surprised to hear Link asking for his help again despite how sound his choice is, the teenage Overlord looks over at the ice and says to the Hero of Time swiftly "Its nothing like the ice I am able to create. Navi is right on the dot here, its probably a foreign type of ice created by Ganondorf…"

"Then we have no real reason to stick around and try to figure out what to do if we have no idea what we are dealing with…" Link makes a simple observation and conclusion about their current dilemma while rubbing the back of his head in annoyance. "Unfortunately, you're right…" Looking around the room for any sign of the Shiekah, Riku quickly changes the subject and asks his Hylian ally "Where do we go from here? Shiek isn't in this room anymore and I doubt he went towards the waterfall considering its frozen." Folding his arms in front of his chest to try and recall what he did the last time he was hear, Link murmurs to himself an abridged version of every step he took in Zoras Domain before remembering what happened after he met King Zora. He widens his eyelids and says to Riku "There's a shrine beyond where King Zora used to sit that allowed the Zoras to pay tribute to their deity Lord Jabu Jabu. Shiek more than likely went that why, possibly to lead us to a solution inside of Lord Jabu Jabu's body."

"Then lets head out there." Riku says with enthusiasm. The two heroes then proceed around the side of King Zora's throne room until they get within range of the frozen king himself, at which pointed they slip between the two steel gates to reach a patch of frozen ice that splits off at the warm stream of water beyond it. Following the water back to the outdoors, the two heroes find themselves outside of the cavernous domain and near the once prosperous Zora's Fountain. When Link looks to the right to try and find Lord Jabu Jabu, but instead of seeing the monstrous fish deity he finds a large slope of ice exactly where he used to sit. "….I guess he must have retreated once the area became covered with ice." Link says out of disappointment towards the deities disappearance. "So Shiek obviously didn't want us to come here to find him…But that just makes me wonder-"

As Riku talks out he looks to the right past the slope of ice and sees the Shiekah jumping across unstable platforms of ice to reach a cavern on the western side of the lake. Link manages to notice him as well, and without saying a word he bravely runs across Lord Jabu Jabu's former shrine and makes his way up the slope to reach the first platform of ice that rested beyond a short jump. With the teenage Overlord following close behind, the two heroes frantically race across the platforms despite the minimal traction beneath their footing and try their hardest to make it to the cavern entrance before they lose sight of Shiek as he enters the mysterious icy cavern. The two finally make it outside the cavern, with Riku pausing to catch his breath as Link says to him "It seems the ice is coming from this cave…Perhaps inside we can find the being responsible for freezing Zoras Domain and stop them." After standing up straight the teenage Overlord nods his head and says "Its worth a try anyways…" And without any hesitation the two heroes make their way inside of the mysterious Ice Cavern…

_Next Time: The Culprit in Lake Hylia_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Secret of the Blue Flame**

Upon entering this mysterious cavern of ice, the two heroes are greeted by a powerful arctic chill that sweeps across both of their skin and immediately gives them goosebumps. "Brrr…I hate sudden climate shifts…" Riku states as he begins to shiver and fold his arms inward to keep himself warm as he modifies the air around his own body to create a barrier of warmth that counteracts the cold. When his blood starts to rush through his veins again and the goosebumps sink back into his skin, the teenage Overlord slowly draws his arms away from the center of his body and turns to Link, who has quickly adjusted to the cold temperature all on his own. "Geez, you don't seem to have a problem with it though…" Riku notes in a somewhat jealous tone of voice. "Well, I still have some heat stored up inside of the Goron Tunic, so I'll be fine for a while anyways." Link says as he looks over his tunic and makes sure that he feels warm all-around.

"If worse comes to worse, I'll give you your own hot air aura to keep you warm." Riku offers to his ally with a smile on his face. The Hero of Time turns to face the teenage Overlord and nods his head, thanking him with an immediate smile. The two heroes then venture on through the entrance of this mysterious cavern in pursuit of the equally enigmatic Shiekah. After making their way through the rocky entrance they move around a corner and are greeted by gigantic crystal spikes sticking out from the ground along with smaller stalagmites coming out from the ceiling. The heroes' movements disrupt the stalagmites hold and cause them to fall down, though Link quickly steps back to avoid them while drawing out his Master Sword ready to deal with the spikes on the ground.

Two quick slashes break apart the obstacles and cause the fragments to fall against the ground and break into even smaller pieces, leaving the pathway open to a large expansive room that has a crystalline floor of ice with three strange icy statues that are all turned towards where the heroes are standing and refuse to keep their focus off of them as they step closer to the edge of the floor they are currently on. There is also a giant, indestructible metal top spinning around the icy floor in a set pattern without its traction being disrupted by the slippery surface. "Link, you need to destroy these Freezzards quickly before they can release their icy breath on you." Navi alerts her friend with a quick flutter of her wings afterwards to alert the heroes of her departure.

Taking the fairy's advice into consideration, Link steps out onto the ice and while making certain not to slip and fall he works against the slippery traction and moves towards the closest Freezzard on the left, taking out his Master Sword and swinging it horizontally to cut the creature in two and prevent it from doing anything to him. With his momentum still strong from his prior movements, the Hero of Time keeps moving diagonally in the direction of the farthest ice monster and uses his blade to cut them down like he did the other. Link keeps moving forward, though as he nears a wall he turns his body around and lets the back of his feet touch the edge of it and carry him towards the other side of the ice floor, where he sheaths his blade for the moment and looks back at the other side to see that Riku hadn't followed him over.

"You ok over there?" The Hero of Time asks as he leans his head forward to better project his voice to the other side. "Yeah yeah, I just need to take care of a couple things first before I join you." Riku says as he sits himself down on the snowy floor and picks his right shoe up with right hand in order to get a clear look at the underside, which he then points at with his left finger and releases a stream of ice that slowly begins to coat his shoe with just the right amount of frost needed to cross the floor in front of him without sacrificing his own control. "I'm just not that good of a skater Link, so I'm just being cautious." Riku notes to his ally as he finishes coating the right shoe and quickly alternates hands to deal with the other one while Link pulls his head back and asks "What is a skater?"

Riku pokes his head up for a moment in shock as he wonders just how Link couldn't have heard what a skater is before discarding his surprise upon remembering in his head "Oh yeah, there's no way Link would know about some terms from my world." As he stands back up with his shoes coated perfectly, the teenage Overlord says to Link "Simply put, a skater is someone who tends to move across the ice. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Looking up ahead, Riku swings his left hand out in an arc to create a fireball in his palm, which he immediately launches at the Freezzard to melt it down and make his path clear across the room. With a quick sprint once the steel top has gotten out of the way, the teenage Overlord swiftly joins Link at the other side of the room. "But yeah, if you want an easier time with the ice I can coat your boots for you." Riku offers with his right hand already held out beside himself.

"Hmm…" Link thinks about the offer for a few moments with his left hand rubbing the bottom of his chin before he moves it away and nods his head to agree to the idea. He sits down, letting Riku coat his boots with a frozen pointed finger until they are properly ready for crossing the ice. "Say, how come your powers work in here?" Link chooses to ask as he lifts his head up slightly and begins to stand upright. "I don't know actually…This seems like an area Ganondorf would know about, so why he hasn't done anything to stop my powers here is really confusing me…" Riku in turn stands on his feet after offering his view on the Hero of Time's question. "I guess we should be thankful for now though." He then goes on to note, which Link agrees on with a nod of his head.

The two heroes then continue on through the passage, with Link taking out the Master Sword to cut down more crystal spikes as they appeared, and then they move on to another large open room that has a strange looking ice crystal, two-bladed fan spinning around in the center of the room. The blades, both sharp and cold in form, would easily cut the heroes in two were it nor for Riku simply putting his hands forward and using a giant ball of fire to melt the fan into a puddle of water. With the room now safe to stand in, the two heroes leap off from the small ledge and take a look around. Immediately noticing a giant pillar of red ice to the left that is blocking the way to another passage, Link says out of curiosity "There has to be some way to get rid of this ice in here…"

He tries to look around while standing in the center of the room, but finds nothing interesting amidst the other assorted pillars of ice and stalagmites save for a series of ledges leading up to a metal barred passageway. "If we can't go that way…Lets try and open the way over there." Link gestures towards the door he noticed with his right hand, and Riku turns away from the red ice to look up at the metal bars. "Do you want me to try and melt the bars?" He says with his hands flung up beside his shoulders and flames already resting above his palms. The Hero of Time, hearing the crackling of flames behind him, holding his left hand out and shakes his head. "Hang on, I think I see something…" With a swing of his hands following Link's comment, the teenage Overlord gets rid of his flames and watches as the Hylian moves towards the ledges and climbs up them, making his way to the edge in front of the bars and leaping outward to collect a large silver Ruppee that happened to be floating mid-air.

Once he grabs the Ruppee the strangely colored currency vanishes instantaneously and with a mysterious ring echoing through the room the metal bars slide up into the ceiling and give the heroes the freedom to move on. They make their way up the platforms and head through the winding passage, dealing with a couple of metal tops and another Freezzard in the process before going down a couple of steps and arriving at a gargantuan room filled to the brim with dark blue fog that made it difficult to see far ahead. The one thing the two heroes notice besides the grainy crystalline walls is a shapeless rocky platform covered in snow that leads up to a small snowy bridge. Jumping up to the bridge itself, they encounter another Freezzard and thus have to wait for it to use its breath attack before Link rushes over and cuts it down.

The heroes are then presented with a different threat as they stand at the opposite end of the bridge, and that is the flying Ice Bats circling around above their heads. Of course, such a threat doesn't last for long as Link takes out his bow and shoots them down with precision arrows through the chests. Once they are dealt with, the two heroes turn to the left and leap onto a five-sided pillar before making their way onto another bridge. However, they stop their advance for a moment as they look in front of them and are greeted by an icy-blue candle that continuously gives birth to bluish fire. Glancing towards the flame with curious eyes, Riku says to himself in an equally questioning tone "…Blue fire? I've never seen something like this before…" Navi emerges from behind Link, her body circling the flames closely yet never once does she feels endangered by them. She flies over to her friend's face, saying to him "This blue fire is unnatural…Maybe this is what Shiek was leading us to?"

Link looks at the flames himself after Navi brings up Shiek, and with an extension of his right hand into the fire itself he finds that it is incapable of burning his skin even when he puts the fingers close to the center. After pulling his hand back out the Hero of Time begins to reach into his tunic while saying "Its worth a try Navi. Riku, do you think you'd be able to create this blue fire yourself?" He then asks while drawing out an empty glass bottle. Riku turns to face Link with his eyes returning to normal and a half-assed look of confidence gracing his face as he tells him "Well…I suppose I could make blue flames if I had a bit of time to examine it." "Alright, good." Link replies as he swipes the open bottle through the fire and quickly puts a lid on it to contain them inside. He then throws the bottle over to Riku, who catches it with both hands after it bounces lightly off of his chest.

Turning around and gesturing towards the bottle with his left hand while glancing over at Riku, Link says to his ally "You can look it over while we head back to that room with the pillar of red ice." With his idea spoken, the Hero of Time leaps over the platform while the teenage Overlord blinks twice and goes on to hold the bottle in his right hand and look it over while following Link back the way they came. He examines the intricacies of the blue flames down to the very last molecule while doing the same with a red flame he creates in his left hand. After glancing back and forth at both flames, Riku determines that the key difference between his flames and the mysterious blue one is that his are created from solar energy while the blue one is created from spiritual energy. Thus, in order to replicate the blue flames himself the teenage Overlord would have to reach deep down into his very soul and infuse some of its essence with his red flames in order to change its nature.

But this would be something he'd test out later, for as of now the two heroes have arrived back at the red ice pillar, and Riku hands the bottle over to Link so he can open it and dump the fire onto the bottom of the pillar while saying to his ally "I hope you figured it out, cause this is my only bottle and I don't think we can afford to keep walking back to that candle every time we need a refill." "Not to worry, I think I understand how the blue fire works." Riku says with his arms confidently folded in front of his chest as the blue fire melts down the red ice as if it were nothing before its might, and the passage behind it is open to the two heroes. Link hums to himself while putting the empty bottle away, his head glancing over his left shoulder as he says to his ally "Looks like this is just what we need to free King Zora anyways…But we still don't have a way of melting the rest of the ice in Zoras Domain."

Riku gives Link and optimistic smile though and says to him "Lets just keep going and see what we can find." To which the Hero of Time responds to his a more hopeful smile and a nod of his head before the two of them continue on through the cavern. More passageways, crystal spikes and Ice Bats get in the heroes way before they make it to yet another room with a two-bladed fan of ice that Riku melts down with a burst of flames. Beyond that fan lies another wall of red ice, and this time around Link steps aside to let his element wielding ally use what he learned in order to deal with the current obstacle. With his hands clapped together to start things off, Riku proceeds to raise his arms up and focus not on the pillar itself, but rather deep into his soul in order to draw out the raw spiritual essence needed to turn his flames blue. First off though, he creates two circular spheres of red fire in front of his palms, and only upon reaching the needed essence does he infuse them into the flames and give them a bluish hue.

With the fire now ready, the teenage Overlord launches the spheres the pillar of ice and watches as it melts down before his eyes. Riku's eyes widen triumphantly as he thrusts his fists high above his head and proclaims with joy "WOO-HOO! I did it Link!" The Hero of Time turns to face his ally with a happy smile and says to him "Good work Riku. Just make sure to remember how to do that when we go back to King Zora." With a smile as he lowers his arms, the teenage Overlord nods his head to confirm to the Hero of Time that he would remember, and without another word for the moment the two move on through to the next room. In this square shaped room lies many chasms that lead to an endless fall, with a large ice block resting right in front of the heroes as they leap off their current platform. There is also a thin layer of fog covering the floor that is just high enough to cover the top of the heroes' feet.

Seeing the silver Rupees along with the iron bars blocking the doorway out of this room and the block in front of them that could more than likely be pushed around to grab the Rupees and give them a platform to the door, Link gently rubbed the back of his head and said in a somewhat annoyed tone of voice "This looks like a big time waster…" "Most of these puzzles are if you think about it Link. But luckily, since I have all of my elemental powers this time…" Riku, with a gesture of his right hand across the area, creates a scar of wind that catches all the silver Rupees and blows them over to Link, who holds his hands out quickly and grabs onto them to collect them. After a few dings ring across the room the iron bars blocking the door vanish, leaving the teenage Overlord to simply gesture towards the ledge of the doorway in order to summon forth a small staircase of ice that will allow the two of them to reach their next destination.

The Hero of Time glances over his right shoulder and says "I sometimes wish you got to keep your powers for the other temples…It would make things a lot easier." "Yeah, but where's the fun in easily bypassing puzzles? We got a bit of a breather here, but things will likely be back to normal at the next place we go to." Riku replies, and Link nods his head and says to him "I guess I shouldn't get too lax. Alright, lets move on." The two heroes climb the staircase and head through another winding passage with Link cutting down another Freezzard and a few ice crystals before they encounter mounds of red ice that Riku melts down with ease, opening the way to a strange door that very nearly blend into the thick crystalline wall. Moving towards said door, the heroes are surprised when it opens all on its own and allows them to enter a square domed room whose walls appear to emulate the depths of space with aurora-like plastered all-around to give this room a bright glow. The floor is covered thick with snow and a few small unbreakable crystals, while in the back there is a hole filled with icy water.

The door behind the heroes is barred shut as the snow ruffles around and a large lycanthrope with a limber body, snow white fur, and glowing crimson eyes devoid of pupils leaps from beneath with mouth agape and a snarl preceding his bloodthirsty howl. Link quickly draws his Master Sword and readies himself for battle while Riku extends his right arm out beside himself, only for the Hero of Time to exclaim "No need to exert yourself Riku, I can handle this on my own!" Link then charges towards the 'White Wolfos' with courageous intent as the beast detects its prey along with the deadly blade that he carries around in his hands. Not wanting to be within range of the sword, the wolf leaps back and after establishing a foothold on the ground again he starts to run around the now stopped in place Hylian, his eyes focusing on every single movement the person might take before he leaps out to strike.

Link watches cautiously in anticipation, his left hand moving towards the braces of his shield just in case he the wolf chooses to attack first. It kept moving around in a perfect circle, which meant that the moment it deviated from its pattern would be when he would attempt to kill the Hero of Time. Link tensed up a bit as the wolf continued to move around him, and the wolf sensed that tension with eyes lit up in ecstasy. With a ready turn of its body, the wolf prepared to leap at the Hero of Time…Only for it to be swiftly incinerated by a burst of fire from Riku's right hand. Link, having turned to face the wolf as it stopped in place, quickly glances over to his ally and asks him in a joking manner as he sheathes the Master Sword "You couldn't have done that right off the bat?"

Riku grins and says in turn as he lays his right arm down beside his hip "Nah." It wasn't a really big issue since the Wolfos would have been dealt with anyways, so Link just focuses back on the room as the iron bars swing up and a glowing circle of magic in front of the pool summons forth a big chest containing another important item for the Hero of Time to collect. Link walks over to the front of the chest and pops the lid open, dipping into the confines of the light and quickly standing up with his hands held triumphantly above his head as a leather pair of boots with iron undersides floats around in mid-air above his palms.

_Link got the __**Iron Boots!**__ So heavy, you can't run. So heavy, you can't float. These boots are also great for working those leg muscles while casually walking around perilous temples!_

Riku walks forward with a perplexed look on his face as he sees Link standing around so strangely, but before he can once again attempt to comment on the issue the Hero of Time suddenly bends his head down with a surprised look in his eyes as he looks behind his ally. Turning around himself, Riku finds Shiek standing in front of the door with his arms held besides his hips and his eyes projecting stoicism onto the heroes. "We meet again, Link…Riku…" Shiek says politely to the two. Link walks forward, his teenage ally stepping aside to allow him a chance to look the Shiekah straight in the eyes as they talk. The Hero of Time opens his mouth slowly, hesitation grasping his tongue before he says "Shiek…You guided us here, but why?"

The Shiekah closes his eyelids momentarily, a calm demeanor falling upon him as he replies to the Hero of Time with "You saw what happened with the Zoras…How Ganondorf has taken their once majestic lands and turned it into a frozen wasteland where barely any of their kind can survive_…_I tried to do whatever I could to help the Zoras out, but in the end I only managed to escape with one of them before everything froze over." With a curious raise of his eyebrows, the Hero of Time asks Shiek "…Who did you save?" The Shiekah opened his eyelids and stared at Link before saying to him "The fair princess of the Zoras…You remember her, do you not, Link?" The Hero of Time's sinking eyelids and sudden silence tells Shiek all he needed to know, and with a light nod of the head he goes on to say "Alas though, she escaped and left for the Water Temple, where the creature responsible for the transformation of Zoras Domain lies…"

"This ice is incapable of being melted by any means, and the only way to save the Zoras is to kill the monster who cursed this land. The princess knew this all too well…But she cannot do this alone. I guided you to this cavern so you could acquire the equipment necessary to the traverse the temple and stop the monstrosity with the princess' help. If you have courage enough to confront this danger and save the Zoras, I will teach you the melody that leads to the temple…" With a gesture of his right hand behind his body, Shiek draws out his harp and with fingers positioned at the strings as Link puts the boots down temporarily and pulls out his Ocarina of Time from his tunic. Shiek says to the heroes "Time passes, people move…Like a river's flow, it never ends. A child mind will turn to noble ambition… Young love will become deep affection… The clear water's surface reflects growth…Now listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself…"

The Shiekah holds the harp out beside his body, playing the strings as gently and slowly as the movement of a morning tide twice over before stopping and letting the Hero of Time play the serenade himself with perfect timing between notes. Once Link has learned the song, the two play the Serenade of Water together, the melodious nature of the music ebbing and flowing across the room and through its inhabitants ears as the aurora lights wave around in tune with the music. When the song comes to an end, Link holds the Ocarina in front of his face with a better understanding of the song in his mind, while Shiek in turn puts his harp away and says to the Hero of Time "Link…I will see you again…"

Flinching upon hearing Shiek's voice, Link quickly puts the Ocarina of Time away and holds his hand out while saying to him "Wait Shiek! I have to know about-" The Shiekah quietly steps back and throws a Deku Nut on the ground to conceal his escape, leaving the Hero of Time with his arm extended as Riku walks up behind him and says with his arms folded in front of his chest "He definitely knew you were going to ask about his knowledge of me." Link pulls his arms back beside his body and nods his head, saying to the teenage Overlord in turn "Yeah, he did…But something doesn't feel right about Shiek…Call it a strange hunch on my part Riku…" The Hero of Time turns around and says with a concerned slant of his eyebrows "But I think Shiek might be Princess Zelda."

_Next Time: The Reunion of a Hero and a Princess_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Serenade of Water I: A Princess in Love**

"H-Huh? What makes you think that?" Riku stutters out upon hearing Link suggest that Shiek, the calm, mysterious ninja that had been helping him up until now, was actually the long lost Princess Zelda. Of course naturally, the teenage Overlord knew the truth about the whole matter, but this very knowledge was working against him now because he didn't actually expect the Hero of Time to come up with this conclusion before the truth was revealed to him. With arms folded in front of his chest as his eyes wander towards the ceiling, Link slants his mouth downward and says responds to his ally in a hesitant tone of voice "Every time I've encountered Shiek I've always felt this strange…Connection to 'him' that I feel I just can't explain." Riku, understanding how nervous Link had to be feeling at this moment, says to the Hero of Time "Try anyways, if you wish. I'm willing to listen."

Link turns his head back to face Riku and nods once, unfurling his arms before saying to him with a gesture of his right hand "Its like I've been around Shiek before despite never meeting him before my emergence from the Chamber of Sages. And every time I try to get close to him he steps away as if he doesn't want me to get in contact with him…As if his physical appearance would give away his true identity. Not only that, but my right hand always feel unnaturally warm until he leaves…Whether or not Shiek is Zelda, there is, at the very least, something very strange about him." After Link finished expressing his thoughts on his unease around Shiek, Riku said to him in an understanding tone "Yeah, I can agree with that…But its not like he will reveal his true identity to us. If there is something to reveal, he will do it on his own, not because he asked."

Holding his right arm back against his hips, the Hero of Time nods his head and says with slight reluctance in his voice "No, you're right, there's no point in worrying about that matter right now…We should probably get moving to the Water Temple." Pulling out his Ocarina of Time and readying it close to his mouth, the Hero of Time prepares to play the Serenade of Water and transport himself and hopefully Riku to the area where the Water Temple lies, but as the teenage Overlord's memories are called upon in his head he holds his right hand out in panic and says "Wait Link, not yet!" As the first two notes echo across the room, Link opens his eyelids and draws his Ocarina away from his mouth, a curious glance pointed down at his ally as he asks "What's up?"

With hand still extended and his mind frantically thinking about how he has to word the next sentence correctly to avoid revealing to Link about his knowledge of this world, Riku mutters out while drawing his arm back beside himself "We should probably go thaw out King Zora before we head to the Water Temple. After all, he might have some advice on what to do there." _"Alright, that's good Riku…Keep this up and we won't let anything slip…"_ He then thinks to himself as Link scratches his chin in thought and proceeds to say "Good idea, actually. Defeating the monster won't thaw King Zora out from the red ice, so we should save him now to avoid panic amongst the Zoras when they are thawed. The question is though, how do we get back to the domain from here?" With Link proposing a rather straightforward question to his ally, Riku quickly turned himself around and noted the hole of water in the back of the room.

"If you put on those new boots of yours, you should be able to dip into the water and walk along the floor to the other side." Riku says while pointing one hand over at the hole itself and having his head tilted over his left shoulder to look back at Link. "Though…" The teenage Overlord smirks and turns the rest of his body around before saying to Link "You may have to hold your breath for a bit." With a curious raise of his eyebrows as he notices his ally failing to mention himself in that sentence, Link asks "And what about you?" Riku holds his arms out besides himself and with fingers extended he conjures up a light gale that flows up around the sides of his head and blows across his hair to wave it around as a veil of air slowly comes into being around his form. He then says to the Hero of Time "I'll manage just fine with this. I wish I could give you one Link, but I need to be able to concentrate to keep these up and if I'm suddenly disrupted by an enemy attack you'll suffocate."

It was a terrible lie that Riku thought made him come off as a bit of an idiot, but since the teenage Overlord had confidence in Link's ability to get through a simple underwater passage while also knowing that the breathing problem would soon be remedied for the Hero of Time he figured that the lie was harmless. After taking a moment to switch boots and putting the regular ones away in a mysterious location that Riku had no intention of questioning about at this point, Link walked past the air veiled teenage Overlord and jumped off into the water, the weight of his boots carrying him down into the damp depths as he puffs his cheeks with air and bears the liquid against his eyes as he lands on the floor and begins walking forward, with Riku slowly descending behind him a couple seconds later. The two heroes traverse the murky depths with only Riku having much in the way of vision due to the lack of water in his face, but with how the water worked he would be unable to communicate with him on just where to go.

Though, in the end, Riku didn't need to be too concerned, for the underwater passage was short and the two heroes arrived on the cold land on the other side, where a dampened Link stands in place for a moment and lets the cold deal with the water on his clothing while Riku dispels his air veil for the time being and asks Link "How do you feel?" The Hero of Time, faintly hearing his ally due to the water in his ears, taps the side of his head to knock some of it out before responding to Riku with "Pretty well honestly…Though I definitely don't want to have to walk through the water often if I'm incapable of breathing normally." Link takes a moment to take his boots off and put on his old ones, especially since his movements were greatly impaired when back on land because of them.

"Also, these Iron Boots are really hard to walk around in, even in the water…I hope I don't have to use them often." As Link makes that comment while putting said boots away, the teenage Overlord can't help but let a bit of his knowledge slip due to a barely concealed chuckle, and the Hero of Time tilts his head after standing up to say to Riku "What's so funny?" The teenage Overlord says with a smile after regaining his composure "Its nothing Link. Just was thinking of something to myself…Lets get a move on, we don't want to waste time here anymore." And thus, after dropping the matter of Riku's oddly timed chuckle, the two heroes made their way back through the Ice Cavern, crossing back outside into Zoras Fountain before a few hops across the icy platforms led them to the cavern that would take them back to where the trapped King Zora lied.

At Riku's behest, Link leaped down to the pedestal where one would usually speak gracefully to the royal Zora at his request, and with arms extended around the thick red ice covering the regal king the teenage Overlord conjured up a series of blue flames that covered the ice and slowly began to melt it off of King Zora. Making sure not to overdo it, Riku dials back on the intensity of the flames as bits of the Zoras scaly skin began to become prominent, and only once the king is truly freed from his icy prison does he dispel the blue fire and quickly perform a sideways leap swiftly through the air to land beside the Hero of Time as the mighty, regal Zora springs to life and immediately wiggles about to the best of his ability to remove any traces of red liquid on his body.

"Brrr…That was a rather horrific nightmare…" King Zora mutters out in a frigid yet fairly jolly tone of voice as he finishes quivering and slowly adjusts his vision to focus on the two figures standing on the pedestal below him. "Oh! Are you two the ones responsible for bringing me back to life?" Giving the two heroes a rather naïve inquiry regarding what happened to him, Link nervously chuckles to himself as he reluctantly tries to avoid saying anything about what really happened to the King. The regal Zora says with a jolly guffaw preceding his words "Don't be so nervous, its obvious that you are to thank for saving me! But…who are you exactly?" Failing to quickly recognize the Hero of Time as the fairy boy that traversed his domain all those years ago, King Zora's terrible memory is met with a look of surprise from Link and a disbelieving shutting of the eyelids by Riku.

With an appropriately polite gesture of his left hand, Link says to the Zora King "You might not remember me, but my name is Link." After giving his name out to the mighty Zora, the large scaly being hums to himself momentarily as he squints his eyelids and looks over the Hylian's appearance. He continues to hum for a few more seconds after widening his eyelids as he concentrates deeply on the matter, but when he finally puts two and two together the Zora King lifts his body up spectacularly and says to Link "Ah yes! You're the fairy boy who rescued my fair Princess Ruto from the belly of Lord Jabu Jabu all those years ago! My dear boy, how have you been lately?" Though it was nice to see King Zora treating Link with the respect he deserved for his endeavor from long ago, Riku takes a step forward to take the attention away from the Hero of Time momentarily in order to say to him with the utmost respect "Forgive me for the intrusion sire, but there will be time for catching up later. Don't you see what's going on around here?"

King Zora, unable to recognize just who the kid who is addressing him is, says in a tone of slight irritation "And just who are you?" Not wanting to speak out of line, Riku went silent for the time being as Link stepped forward to the edge of the pedestal and said to the King "This is Riku, he's a companion of mine who helped free you from the red ice." Relaxing his suspicions towards the strange boy and returning to his jolly demeanor, the mighty King says in a fairly apologetic tone "Forgive me for suspecting you of being an enemy…Its just that I'm a little weary right now after being trapped in that horrible, frigid prison." "Do you have any idea as to what is even going on with your domain?" Riku then asks while folding his arms in front of his chest. "…" King Zora glances around the room, taking in the frozen environment and saying in turn with a slow shake of his head "I'm afraid I do not."

Link gestures towards the King with his right hand, saying to him gently "Long story short, a monster buried within the Water Temple was unleashed by Ganondorf and it cursed your domain to become a frozen wasteland. But a helpful man by the name of Shiek managed to free Princess Ruto…" King Zora's eyes light up with relief upon hearing that his fair daughter is safe and sound "However, Ruto went off to the Water Temple to stop the monster herself." Only for them to widen in fear and panic once he hears that she has gone and put herself in danger by traversing that dangerous temple. In fact, King Zora nearly has a heart attack upon hearing this news. "NO NO NO! What is she thinking going off into the Water Temple alone?! She can't stop that monster by herself, no way no how! This is terrible news…I don't know what to do…Oh dear oh dear oh dear…" Frantically trying to think of a situation to this problem between his panicked words, the Zora King eventually looks down at the heroes and instantly comes up with an idea.

"You two…Would you be so kind as to go to the Water Temple, save Princess Ruto, and stop the monster in order to break the curse inflicted upon my our wondrous domain?" As he requests a dire favor from the two heroes, Link happily points out to the King "We were already planning on heading over there. We just stopped here to save you first." "Excellent, excellent! Then if you are on your way, I must give you something that will help you along with your quest." Fidgeting around a bit with his hands inside of his red cape, the King seeks out a specific garb that will help Link out in the Water Temple. He draws out a dark blue tunic from within, using his thin little arms to toss it through the air for Link to grab and quickly hold high into the air above his head like he has many other items thus far.

_Link got a __**Zora Tunic!**__ This diving suit, just like the Goron Tunic, was conveniently created to fit a Hylian despite being made in a Zora's domain…This lightweight clothing will allow its user to breathe underwater. _

Of course, since King Zora didn't notice the mysterious italic text floating between paragraphs, he had to state the obvious to the Hero of Time by saying "This tunic was crafted out of a special breathing fiber that infuses the user with the magic of the Zoras in order to give them the ability to move around underwater as they would on land…Unfortunately, we do not have one in your size, Riku." In response to the King's honest apology, the teenage Overlord nods his head and says to him "Its alright, I can manage just fine underwater" without at all displaying his veil of air. Link, after placing the tunic along his arms, looks up at the King and says with a thankful nod "Don't worry, we won't let you down sir. Your people will be free in no time." Also nodding to the heroes out of courtesy for their help, the King says in turn "Please be quick…I can't imagine my people surviving very long underneath the ice…"

Link turns to face Riku afterwards with tunic still in his arms, and says to him "Give me a moment to change into this before I play the Serenade of Water, ok?" Agreeing to give him privacy with a light nod, the teenage Overlord watches as the Hero of Time heads off to the left passage and covers himself behind the curved wall in order to change clothes. It only takes Link a few seconds to get this done as Riku patiently stands at the pedestal and folds his arms in front of his chest. When the Hero of Time emerges, he is seen not only wearing the tunic but a cap of the same color as well. He also already has his Ocarina of Time grasped in his right hand, and after leaping off the pedestal the teenage Overlord walks beside him and says "You ready to go?" Link nods his head as he slowly moves the instrument before his mouth and says with eyelids sealing up "Just stay close to me and you should be carried to our destination."

Wrapped his lips around the mouthpiece, the Hero of Time plays the harmonious Serenade of Water, as Riku realizes that this will be the first time that he will teleport with Link via one of these songs. When the melody has reached its crescendo, Link puts the Ocarina of Time away while his element wielding companion finds himself feeling increasingly lighter with each passing second as a series of light blue sparkles of light swirl around both himself and the Hero of Time. In a flash of light that the two heroes only have a second to react to, they find themselves both swept away by the energies that Riku clearly recognizes as coming from the Sacred Realm, and in a solemn blink of the eyelids the heroes find themselves transported onto a hexagon stone platform with a symbol of the Water Medallion etched onto the surface.

The lights disappear from sight as Riku stands still in utter disbelief towards the feeling of weightlessness that flowed through his body for those few fleeting moments, and he in turn is surprised as he looks towards Link and notices how well he was taking the experience. Composing himself as well as he could, the teenage Overlord folds his arms in front of his chest and asks with a sly smile "You used the song for the Forest Temple beforehand, didn't you?" Link replies while walking off the stone "Yeah. It is rather disorienting at first to feel your weight completely leave you, even if it is for a moment, but it is also rather nice to have a swift way to travel to each temple…Though, if I have to be honest…"

The Hero of Time steps towards the edge of the former island, past tense being used here simply because of the nearly dehydrated lakebed the two heroes see before them, and as the clouds above them burst and bring a torrent of raindrops down upon their bodies Link finishes his sentence with "I never expected to see Lake Hylia end up like this…" Riku looks over the edge of the island after walking beside the Hero of Time, his attention moving towards the bit of water surrounding the bottom of this 'island' after he looks past the dampened sky towards the ice sealed passage near the edge of the lake. After lifting his head up and humming to himself to secure his focus, the teenage Overlord mentions to Link "Zora's Domain is connected to Lake Hylia, right? That means the monster's curse also deprived the lake of its main source of water…"

"Yeah. So the curse isn't just threatening the Zora's lives, but its also ruining the ecosystem in Lake Hylia…Does Ganondorf's evil know no end?" As Link poses that question to his ally, Riku says to him "He is consumed by his own desire for power…He believes himself to be a god now, and thus feels that he has every right to use his power to harm others against their will. This is why madmen should never be allowed to gain any type of power…" Surprised by how seriously Riku was taking the subject at hand, the Hero of Time glances over at him and says while drawing the Master Sword and holding it in front of his body to see his brave-eyed expression reflecting off the blade "He won't keep getting away with this, not so long as we are alive to stop him." Putting on a more optimistic expression, the Riku turns and says to Link "Yeah. Lets get to work then…"

With a simple thought and a swing of his arms the teenage Overlord summons forth a gentle gale to cover his body and give him the perfect ability to breathe underwater, while Link puts on his Iron Boots. The two heroes, now ready to delve into the depths below, leap off the edge of the former island and land into the water. The Hero of Time is dragged down to the bottom floor, but finds that it is easier for him to see around him underwater while he can also open his mouth and take in oxygen as if he was on land. "Huh, this feels strange…" Link comments, his eyes widening in surprise as he realizes that he is now capable of speaking underwater too. Without the flow of water disrupting his voice, the Hero of Time is heard by Riku as the teenage Overlord floats above the bottom of the lakebed and says to him "You'll get used to it. Its kind of a shame that you won't be able swim while wearing those Iron Boots though."

The Hero of Time merely shrugs at this news though and says "Eh, I'll manage. Though I get the feeling that it'll be much harder to use some of my equipment while underwater, since they aren't affected by the Zora Tunic." After Link says that, Riku spins his body around and looks up at the strange aquamarine jewel floating above the iron bars, his head peeking over his right shoulder before he mentions to Link "Do you think you can use the Hookshot?" Nodding his head gently, the Hero of Time reaches into his tunic and draws out said item, pointing it up through the water towards the jewel and with a single activation the metal hook pokes the jewel and causes it to come out of its confinements once the chain retracts back into the main device. Thanks to the removal of the jewel, the irons bars rise up and give the heroes entrance to the Water Temple.

Cautiously moving into the temple itself, both heroes go through a short dark tunnel before meeting a tall light brown wall that leads up to a ledge on dry land. To reach this ledge, Link has to put his normal boots back on and let buoyancy carry him to the surface, where he then grabs onto the ledge and pulls himself onto dry land with Riku following close behind. The two walk through the lightened passage and make their way into the central area of the Water Temple. They are greeted by a gigantic, multi-story tower that reaches into the damp ceiling. As far as Link could tell there was a door on each floor, though a couple were locked at the moment. There are also a couple other doors and ledges across the room that the heroes, to Link's best of knowledge, couldn't reach at the moment.

As the Hero of Time tries to determine where the two of them should go, Riku stands behind him with his right hand floating before his chest as he tries to determine which of his elemental powers he still has control over now that he was inside of the temple. "So…This time I am able to use Fire, Earth, and Wind…Makes sense anyways, but it feels so strange to be limited again…" Riku comments as he places his arms besides his hips and thinks to himself _"This is weird…Unlike with Zora's Domain, I don't feel any dark magic in this temple…In fact, I can't feel anything at all, like whoever is gimping my powers is trying their hardest to mask their presence…"_ Before he can think more about it, the teenage Overlord watches as Link puts his Iron Boots back on and says with a glance behind his shoulders "Lets head underwater and see what we can find." He then jumps into the water and lets himself slowly sink to the bottom before Riku joins up behind him as usual.

Once on the ground, Link glances back and forth after taking a step forward on the ground, his eyes focusing on a passageway guarded by two unlit torches before he says "Riku, follow me" to alert his ally as to where he was going with a gesture of his right over to the aforementioned passage. The two heroes walk and float over to the square sea stone passage, traveling around the corners until they arrive at the small room at the very end…And are greeted by a eloquent, female Zora. She has a nimble, graceful figure that meshes well with her species' aquamarine skin and translucent blue-green hip fins. These very same type of wavy fins are attached to the lower halves of her arms, their size being double that of the ones on her hips. On the lobes of her fish-like ears are sapphire water droplet shaped earrings, and attached to the top of her head is an amphibious mound of flesh that looks like the body of a jellyfish minus the tentacles. On the front of her face are two gorgeous yet innocent looking dark blue eyes, both of which light up with joy upon seeing the blue tunic wearing man standing before her.

"Oh! Y-You are Link, aren't you?!" She merrily and swiftly recognizes the Hero of Time at just a first glance while Link merely stands in place on the ground and, much like when he reunited with Malon, finds himself feeling strange when graced with this person's presence. Sensing the Hylian's hesitation and misinterpreting it as a sign that he didn't recognize her, the Zora concernedly places her right hand against her chest and leans forward before asking "Link? Do you remember who I am? I'm your fiancée, Ruto! Princess of the Zoras!" Speaking with such enthusiasm and confidence in what she said, Ruto watches as Link flinches in shock and Riku tries his hardest to contain his laughter. "Oh man Link…" Riku says with a his head held down slightly and a sly grin coming across his face. "How did this happen?" He then asks while chuckling at this whole scenario.

Trying to maintain his composure despite how overwhelming this surprise is on his mind, the Hero of Time looks at the overjoyed Ruto and asks her "Yeah, what do you mean by 'fiancée'?" Finding it rather curious that Link is questioning her statement, Ruto says to him in a puzzled tone "You don't remember? When you accepted the Zora Sapphire you pretty much became engaged to me…Don't you remember the vows we made to each other seven years ago?" The Hero of Time, trying his hardest to think back to the aftermath of being inside of Lord Jabu Jabu, vaguely recalls said vows and nervously mutters to Ruto while biting the bottom of his lips "Errr…Yeah, I guess I did make some vows, didn't I? But in all fairness Ruto, I-" Ruto interrupts the Hero of Time and says to him "Well, you're a terrible man to keep me waiting for seven long years, Link!" Her berating tone is combined with her agitated glare, but with a reluctant relaxation of her facial expression she says with a heavy sigh "But…Now is not the time to discuss our marriage, is it?"

Riku, still cracking up as he hears all this through, notes Ruto's sudden shift in demeanor and calms down instantly to hear the Zora Princess out. "I'm sure you've already seen it…How Zora's Domain has become totally frozen in ice…A young man by the name of Shiek rescued me from under the ice…But my father and the other Zoras have not…yet…" Looking ready to tear up despite how hard it would be to do so underwater, Princess Ruto is comforted by a more composed Hero of Time, who says to her "Don't worry about the King. We freed him from the ice before coming here…And we will help save the rest of the Zoras as well by stopping the monster." Ruto, upon hearing this news, relaxes and lets out a sigh of relief while placing one hand against her heaving chest.

Link then goes on to say "Ruto, please leave this temple and let us handle the monster." He had nothing but the Princess' safety on his mind at the moment, and thus was vastly surprised when Ruto shook her head in defiance of his concern and said to him maturely "I'm sorry Link, but I can't do that. I want to save them all…I have to be the one to save Zora's Domain!" Confused by Ruto's insistence, the Hero of Time simply asks "But why?" With a gentle smile and longing expression on her face, the princess of the Zoras replies with "Because I want to be a brave hero, just like you are, Link….But, that's not going to be enough to convince you to let me be, is it?" Without a word, the Hero of Time confirms Ruto's thoughts with a simple nod, and after she sighs she says to him in turn "…I see. I know a gentleman like you is not going to just force me out of this temple against my will, so if you want to stay you are more than welcome to help me…But I won't leave, not until that monster is dead and my people are free…"

Turning herself around with her head hung low and one eye looking at the two heroes, she says mainly to the Hero of Time "Farewell for now Link…And may we find each other again where the monster lies…" With that solemn farewell, the princess lifts her head up and swims upward into the hole in the ceiling, leaving Link to lament the fact that despite his efforts Ruto was following her destiny… "To become the Sage of Water…" Is all that the Hero of Time mutters out, and as Riku turns his head to face Link upon hearing that he asks him "What was that Link?" With a simple shake of his head, the Hero of Time forgoes his sorrow and fakes his normal demeanor before saying to his ally "Riku…Lets get moving, we need to make it through this temple, at any cost..."

_Next Time: An Annoying Underwater Maze_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Serenade of Water II: Dark Reflection**

Leaving the Zora princess Ruto to her own affairs for the time being, the two heroes look at the room in front of them to try and determine what they should do next. "A single dampened wood torch, two steel torches in the corners…And a barred stone door…" Riku lists off the interesting objects in this room before saying to Link "We can't do anything here, not yet anyways." Link agrees with this sentiment with a simple nod of the head, and upon looking up at the hole in the ceiling that Ruto swam through he decides "Lets go up there. Its our best bet right now." Moving to the center of the room, the Hero of Time switches boots and lets himself float up, while Riku swims beside him. Along the way, the teenage Overlord asks Link "Say, do you know how to swim?"

Link, with a curious glance of the eyes, replies to Riku with "I can keep myself afloat on the surface…But besides that, I was never taught how to swim." "Well that explains a lot…" The teenage Overlord comments as the two of them pass by a room with a cracked wall in front of them. The Hero of Time takes note of that crack as they enter another passage, and then he says to Riku "There was never any water deep enough in Kokiri Village for me to practice in, and I haven't really had the time to learn because of this quest." Shrugging his shoulders, the teenage Overlord says to Link "I wish I could help you, but you're right…The importance of our quest is too dire to focus on swimming lessons. Maybe afterwards though, if you're interested." Smiling out of thanks for his ally's concerns, the Hero of Time says to Riku "Alright, I'll try and remember that."

After that, the two heroes make it to the water's surface and pull themselves onto relatively dry land. The floor is covered with slimy water droplets that make movement a little slick, and its possible that they came off of Ruto's fins once she emerged. Taking note of the doorway in front of them, the two heroes decide to investigate what's behind it and walk over to it. Detecting their presence, the stone door slides into the ceiling, its solidified form grinding against the sides of the slot until the two heroes enter the room behind it, at which point it slams down shut with iron bars locking the heroes inside. Speaking of iron, there are four balls rolling around the room with multiple spikes protruding out of them that are made out of that exact same material.

Knowing right away that the Master Sword is worthless against these creatures, Riku thrusts his right hand out in front of his body and flings out four fireballs from his palm to strike the creatures and hopefully melt them. However, despite the intensity of the flames that come in contact with the iron, the spiked orbs merely gain a superheated crimson glow for a couple seconds instead of melting down. "Well, forget that plan…" Riku says, his hand withdrawn as a look of surprise encompasses his face. Reaching into his tunic to pull out his Hookshot, whose hook is also made of iron, the Hero of Time says to the teenage Overlord "This will probably be more effective." With a click of the trigger Link shoots the chain and hook at the closest orb and watches as the tip punctures the metal coating and causes it all to retract into a sea stone sphere in an instant.

Flinching out of surprised remembrance for this creature's particular weakness, Riku stands in place and watches as Link deals with each iron orb one by one, using two shots of the Hookshot to destroy the vulnerable stone spheres until the room is cleared of enemies. In the aftermath of Link's ingenuity, a large chest appears from a swirl of magic in the center of the room. Walking over to the chest after putting away his tools, the Hero of Time pops the lid open and from the light he pulls out a roll of brown paper. Unfurling it in front of his body with his hands grasped onto both sides, the Hero of Time notes to his unknowing companion "It is a map of the temple." Riku, curious to know what is on the map in regards to floor structure and all, walks beside Link and glances down onto the front of the map.

Examining the map closer himself, the Hero of Time says with his eyelids slanted in slight annoyance "Geez, this place looks rather difficult for one person to navigate…" Though the maze-like structure of the temple did little to dampen Link's desire to get through the area, as he folded the map up and tucked it away behind his tunic for safe keeping he found himself thankful for the fact that Riku was with him at the moment. "Say, did you get a good chance to memorize that map?" He asks the teenage Overlord with his head turned slightly to face him. Taking a step back to get a good enough distance between the two of them, Riku replies to the Hero of Time with a puzzled "Yeah, why?" "I'm thinking that we will be able to cover a lot more ground if we split up for a bit." Surprised by Link's suggestion, Riku says to him with a smile on his face and not a hint of reluctance on his mind "That's not a bad idea actually." After thinking about it a little bit though, the teenage Overlord comes up a slight flaw in the plan, and with a tilt of his head and a more neutral expression he asks "But wait, what am I going to do if I come across something that requires your equipment?"

Taking note of Riku's point with a hum of deep thought, the Hero of Time folds his arms in front of his chest for a moment and after a few seconds of silence he says "How about this? If you need my equipment, go back to the central tower and wait for me there, and we'll tackle the problem area together." Though the idea sounds like it would waste more time than it would save, Link says with a smile of confidence towards Riku "But honestly, I believe you'll be able to handle most problems in here, even if your limited powers." Nodding his head in agreement, Riku says to the Hero of Time "Alright, but don't go fighting the monster without me. Lets promise to meet up again when the time comes to confront him. "Agreed." With Link's one word response, the two heroes turn to face the now open door and move back to the prior room. From there, Riku leaps into the water with his veil of air active, leaving Link to examine the nearby plague that has the mark of the Triforce on it.

Now that Riku has left, Navi emerges from behind the Hero of Time and says to her friend "Its been a while since it was just the two of us adventuring, Link." Link flinches in surprise upon hearing Navi's voice, since he was more focused on the plaque than he was anything else, but as he turns towards the fairy with a warming smile she misinterprets the Hylian's reaction as a sign that he had forgotten about her traveling along with him thus far. "…" Navi slowly flaps her wings in a melancholy manner as the Hero of Time says to her "Yeah, it really does feel that way, doesn't it?" Hesitantly responding with "Y-Yes…" Navi flies down as Link turns to the plaque and says to her "This looks like the plate that I had to stand on to open the way to Zora's Domain…I wonder…" Thinking to himself while reaching into his tunic, Link takes a moment to pull out the Ocarina of Time and recall how to play a specific song.

With his mouth blowing air into the instrument, the Hero of Time slowly plays Zelda's Lullaby in front of the plaque, the melody causing a reaction within the very temple itself in the form of the water draining from the passageways behind him. As Link puts the Ocarina away he hears the gushing of the water as it drains, and turns around to see that the rooms below have become completely devoid of water. This in turn has caused the wooden torch to re-ignite on the bottom floor. "Alright Navi, lets get moving, we got a lot of work ahead of us." Link says with enthusiasm as he leaps down the central hole and with Navi trailing close behind, her voice going silent as she descends…

Meanwhile, back over with the teenage Overlord, we find him swimming through the waters around the central tower until Link's efforts cause them all to drain through grates lying around the bottom of the tower. Moving his feet so he'll be standing on the soft sand as the buoyancy brought by his air veil leaves, Riku says to himself "Looks like Link has already played Zelda's Lullaby…" He doesn't have to keep his thoughts contained at the moment thanks to not being in the presence of the Hero of Time, and he is quite thankful for this since he is going to kick his memory of the Water Temple into overdrive if he wants to clear out the later parts long before Link is actually supposed to be heading to them. "Alright, I'm down to three elemental powers and my flight…Though considering how tight some of these rooms are, I'd be better off just not flying for the time being."

Clarifying things over with himself, the teenage Overlord looks to the right of his location and quickly runs towards the tunnel at the northern end of the room. Its one of the few parts of the temple currently filled with water, but that wouldn't prove to be a problem seeing as Riku didn't have to be weighed down with the burden of constantly switching boots. "Alright…Memories don't fail me now." Taking a confident plunge into the underwater tunnel, Riku swims through it with a rapid flap of his legs and arrives in a rectangular room with stone spikes preventing him from latching his hands onto the ledge…For a few fleeting seconds, because as soon as he establishes a good floating position in the center of the water with the help of his legs the teenage Overlord focuses on the two centermost spikes and with a thrust of his hands out of the water he uses his powers to rip the spikes from the ground and impale them into the ceiling above. The strong impact causes bits of rock to patter against the water as cracks form along the ceiling around where the spike struck.

Riku then pulls himself out of the water, only to be immediately greeted by a steel locked door similar to the ones he encountered in the Fire Temple. "Oh yeah…I need a key to unlock this…" The teenage Overlord, sounding rather sorry towards himself for forgetting such a crucial detail, is swiftly revealed to be faking his attitude as he spits out air through the side of his mouth and says with his arms folded firmly against his chest "Pfft…Not in this lifetime." Unfurling his arms and focusing entirely on the links in the chain closest to the lock itself, Riku concentrates deeply on the inner workings of the links, using his powers to weaken the structures to the point that they will be easily shattered. With his feet firmly placed on the ground, the teenage Overlord moves his arms outward from the center of his chest while emitting a strong magnetic force from his tightly clenched fists that pulls on the weakened chain links and, in a matter of seconds, tears them away from the main lock, removing any possible hold the chain and locks had on the stone door and giving Riku free reign to continue on to the next room.

But it did take the teenage Overlord a bit of effort to destroy that lock, as evidenced by his slight pants and the miniature sweat drops trickling down the sides of his head. "I…I should really consider practicing the magnetic aspect of the Earth element…Its really strenuous on my body to keep such a prolonged field up…" After promising to train his control over magnetism at a later date, Riku takes one last breath to get himself back to normal and corrects his pose so he can enter the next room after turning the doorknob. "Alright, so what am I up against now…" Speaking in a somewhat cautious yet simultaneously curious tone, the teenage Overlord looks ahead and sees a average-sized square body of water that had within it two very strong currents leading towards rapidly spinning whirlpools. Gliding on the surface were six aquamarine colored Tektites, who were trying their hardest to avoid being crushed by the giant boulders rolling out from two separate tunnels that were also slowly depositing water into the room.

"So…Basically nothing challenging again." Riku says with a merry sigh as he closes his eyelids and blindly bombards the water surface with hundreds of fireballs to disintegrate the unaware Tektites, all the while causing the area to become engulfed in a thin veil of fog due to the amount of heat making contact with the water. As the teenage Overlord opens his eyes and sniffs in the moisture and charred flesh, he thinks to himself "…Might have overdone it a little." An understatement if there ever was one. But still, the fog would prove to not be an impediment as Riku kicks himself off the ground and flies straight through the air to the other side of the room, his body being so perfectly center that he avoids both boulders rolling in the water at the moment. He lands on the ground and opens the nearby door, entering a fogless room where the water below reflects onto the walls.

Leaping off the nearby ledge and flying off to the left to go over to the next one, Riku glances down at the puzzle he just avoided and smirks, though said feeling of joy caused by breezing through the Water Temple slowly subsides as he lands and thinks to himself "…Geez, I thought this would feel a lot more cathartic to deal with this place so easily…But now I just feel like I'm robbing Link of a chance to see some of the beauty and danger this temple has to offer…Hmm." Shaking his head to disperse the thoughts on his mind, the teenage Overlord says to himself "I can't be thinking like that. I never intended to come to these video game worlds to get petty revenge on a temple…After all, the memories I have of this place are Mew's, not my own…Heh, here I am wasting time talking about such a minor issue. Better stay focused, otherwise I'll fail to catch up with Link back at the center tower."

Turning around and climbing the stairs to head on through the stone door, Riku finds himself in a new room that is completely straight in design. It has a pit that holds within it three light geysers that would support Riku's weight if he were to jump onto them. First off though, the teenage Overlord swings his arms across the front of his body to call forth two fireballs, both of which curve back and forth across the air until they reach the Tektites on the other side and burn right through their bodies, leaving only their charred legs lying on the ground. Once he places his arms against his hips and swings the hands to dispel the remaining bits of fire, Riku turns to the right and steps on the nearby switch in order to activate the geysers, preferring to leap across them in rapid succession instead of simply flying over and reaching the door on the other side.

Going through it without realizing that he was on a time limit to get there before iron bars sealed him inside, Riku finds himself in a small tunnel that leads to the current where the closest boulders were coming out from when he entered that one room not too long ago. Remembering that there is a secret passage in the water, Riku waits for one boulder to roll on by, questioning in the meanwhile how an infinite number of boulders could possibly keep coming down this passage, and then he leaps towards the back wall of the passage with air veil at the ready and lands in the pool of water floating above the underwater passage. Quickly sinking down before a boulder falls, Riku swims through the water with great dexterity until he meets a large clam with pointed lips and a craving for human flesh judging by its snapping maw and its movements towards the teenage Overlord.

Of course, since his current array of elements won't do much to stop the clam, Riku takes forth his sword and quickly cuts through the hardened shell of the beast to reach the delicate membrane holding both parts together, and as the creature splits its activity ceases and allows the human to pass on as its halves float to the ceiling. Rising up to the surface, the teenage Overlord finds another door blocked by a lock and chains, and once he stands on dry land with sword withdrawn he utilizes the same technique he did before in order to bust his way into the next room. All that lies in this quaint, square hold is a gold and blue chest that Riku already knows the significance of. Opening the lid up and peeking into the array of light inside, the teenage Overlord pokes his right hand in and pulls out the golden Boss Key.

"Haha…Glad I decided to go for this instead of the major item in this temple." With a flip of the key into the air, Riku tightly grasps the item in his right hand and swings his arm before his chest triumphantly before he puts the key away into his pant pocket. "Hopefully things are going well on Link's end." He then says as he turns to face the door and begins to make his way back to the first room of the temple, dodging boulders and more Tektites until he swims through the underwater passage to arrive close to the central tower. Contrary to when he left though, the place has been filled with water up to the lip of the tower's third floor, meaning that Link was more than likely somewhere close to the tower. Swimming up post-haste, the teenage Overlord catches a glimpse of a figure in blue standing on the eastern corner of the tower with a speck of light following him around.

Smiling at the fact that the Hero of Time appears to be fine, Riku pokes his head out of the water's surface, only to be met with a tense Link pointing a bow and arrow straight at his face. Flinching in surprise and declaring hastily to the Hylian "Whoa! Hold up there Link, its me, Riku!" The Hero of Time, recognizing his ally's face as he appears to be a second away from letting go of the string, slowly composes himself and loosens his pull on the bow as he stands up and says in a nervous, apologetic tone "Sorry about the mix-up Riku, I thought you were an enemy attempting to ambush me." With his bow and arrow stored away, Link watches as Riku pulls himself onto dry land with the help of both hands and says to him "Well I don't see why you would go and assume that…" Standing up to face the Hero of Time and noticing a hint of tension sticking to his face, the teenage Overlord asks "What happened to you since I left?"

Shivering slightly at the thought of what he endured, the Hero of Time folds his arms in front of his chest and says bravely to Riku "Well besides switching out boots multiple times, I had to go through a bunch of rooms filled with Tektites. Normally, I wouldn't mind that since they are very weak and all, but most of the time I kept missing one Tektite that ends up jumping on me as I switch boots. Let me tell you, its not fun having their pointed legs on your body…So I was a bit on edge when I came here, hence the bow and arrow almost piercing your skull." Understanding Link's reasoning, the teenage Overlord says with a nod of his head and a gesture of his hand beside his face showing just how casually he is shrugging off the matter "No big deal Link. At least you're still alive. So what type of progress did you make item wise? I managed to get the Boss Key, but I don't think we'll be able to do anything with it yet."

Link, reaching into his tunic pockets and shuffling his hand around his inventory to find some specific items, pulls out two silver keys and holds them flat against his palm as he rests his hand in front of his chest. "I was just about ready to head into that locked door over there…" Link gestures to the door to the left of him that has a lone stone plat forming floated on the water in front of it "So do you still want to stay split up or do you want to come along with me to see what lies beyond that door?" "I don't think I'll find anything since you appear to have covered most of the temple, so lets get going and see what we can find beyond that door." Riku replies, dictating in a sense what the two heroes shall do from this point in. Link leaps over to the platform and uses one of the keys to unlock the way, while Riku follows him close behind into the next room.

Inside is an inclined waterfall leading into an empty void, and a series of stone platforms with Hookshot-able marks descending down the face of the water after they slowly emerge from a thin slot near the other side of the room. Taking out his Hookshot in preparation to traverse the platforms, the Hero of Time walks off the edge and lands on a solitary stone platform suspended in place by the solid rock wall behind him. Leaping down onto the slowly moving one below that, Link tries to line up his Hookshot with one of the marks in front of him, his eyelids closing as he tries to pay attention to the movements of the platforms before him along with the one he is currently standing on, waiting just the right moment until his Hookshot is able to reach the other side and lock into place on the mark. Gripping his hand around the main part of the device, Link trusts the Hookshot to hold up as he is dragged through the air and brought towards one of the platforms, where at the last second he works against the momentum and swings his left hand out in order to grip the top of the mark and get a steady enough hold as he puts the Hookshot away and uses his other hand to begin climbing onto the platform.

Once he stands on top of the platform, the Hero of Time uses the Hookshot to keep climbing, culminating in him reaching the other side with one final shot at the mark below the ledge. He then climbs up and sees another locked door, but decides to turn around and wait for Riku to join him. He looks back at the entrance and finds that his ally has vanished from view, so Link looks down and watches as Riku quickly leaps across the gap and makes his way up the platforms as if they were a simple staircase to him. When he lands down in front of the Hero of Time he quickly says to him "Alright, lets keep moving." He doesn't even acknowledge the swiftness through which he completed the room, and as far as Link is concerned it didn't really matter to bring it up. Thus, the two heroes faced the locked door and head on through it after Link uses up the last of his keys.

In this room are a few dog-headed stones poking out of various sections of the floor, with a small pool of water crawling with Tektites lying just below the platform the heroes currently stood on, and a small crystal suspended on top of a stone pillar that looks like it could be activated by Link's Hookshot. But before he tried it out, the Hero of Time took out his bow and arrow and dealt with the Tektities using precise shots through the eyes. He then put the weapon away and drew out the Hookshot, using it to turn the crystal on and give it a glowing yellow tint on the inside. The water level rises, and the dog-headed stones rise up to reveal that they are actually totem poles with Hookshot marks imprinted on the front of their bodies.

Link uses the aforementioned device to cross over to the platform to the left of him while Riku leaps over. The Hero of Time then turns to the crystal and uses the Hookshot again to lower the water level and totems, revealing off to the side of the second totem another mark that Link connects to with the hook of his item and drags himself to the ledge on the other side. After climbing over the dog-head the Hero of Time watches as Riku jumps to the corner of the ledge that he is on and steps off to the side so Link can get a clear shot at the crystal again. Another activation gives Link yet one more mark to Hookshot to in the form of the final totem in this room. After crossing over to the other side, Link causes the water and totem to sink so he can jump on top of the totem head and uses the Hookshot one final time to raise himself up onto tunnel. The Hero of Time puts the Hookshot away after a job well done, while Riku leaps over to the last totem and uses his Earth based powers in order to lower it on his own and rise up to where his Hylian ally is currently at.

After leaping off the totem, Riku asks Link "How did you know what to do so quickly?" Responding swiftly to the inquiry, the Hero of Time says "I just had to see what the switch does and it was easy to figure things out from there." "Huh…Fair enough." The teenage Overlord says after accepting how simplistic Link's answer was. When the Hero of Time turns around, he notices a Like Like guarding the way out of the room behind a wall of giant spikes. There was a Hookshot mark on the ceiling, but Link would simply fall into the Like Like's gullet if he used it. But as he prepared to take out his bow and shoot the creature from afar Riku simply gestured his right hand through the air in front of him to lift one of the spikes up and fling it at the Like Like with such force that the creature is impaled against the door and the spike itself crumbles apart into many little pieces that fall against the ground. The gooey remains of the Like Like become one with the sea stone floor, while the area where the spike once was is now an open pathway to the exit. After taking a quick glance over to the teenage Overlord Link notes his polite gesture of the arms towards the door that says to him verbally "After you", and the two of them move on their way into the next room…

However, both heroes are greatly surprised by where they arrived it. This room has a far different aesthetic touch to it than all the other ones prior to it. It a large, seemingly endless room shrouded in a light green fog that reflects off of the ankle deep water and gives it a pale-ish hue. There is a lone, leafless tree on a thin island in the center of the room, and there is both a stray rock and a submerged fragment of a hollow stone square that appear to serve no purpose in this room. There is a strange building on the other side of the room that Link felt required investigation, so with his mind cautious of this mysterious area he walks across the water to go check the building out with Riku following close behind. The teenage Overlord currently has his arms folded in front of his chest as he tries to recall just what was so special about this room compared to all the others they had gone through up until now.

As he thinks, Riku looks down at the water's surface and finds it rather odd that Link's reflection has a more blackish tint to it while his shares the same colors as his body. But before he could comment on it the Hero of Time steps onto the thin stone platform set around the mysterious building and says to Riku "Hmm…Its locked…" Referring to the iron bars covering the stone door with that sentence. Turning around to face the teenage Overlord, the Hero of Time says to him while drawing his Master Sword and shield cautiously "I'm going to investigate around. Could you stand here and let me know if the door opens?" Nodding in compliance with Link's request, Riku says with a kindly gesture of his right hand "Just be careful, alright?" And as Link in turn nods, the teenage Overlord steps onto the stone platform and watches as the Hero of Time heads straight out towards the lone tree.

As he sets foot in the water, Riku notices the black tinted reflection once more, only this time the reflection itself is thicker, and it appears behind Link instead of in front of him like it should be. "Hmmm?" Finding himself curious upon facing this shadowy reflection again, the teenage Overlord once again tries to remember just what this room's secret is. "…Wait a second." As the dark reflection freezes in place with the Hero of Time walking away from it, the teenage Overlord watches as the water begins to ripple and a shadowy head begins to poke its way out from the surface. Swinging his right hand out beside himself to call upon his sword, Riku quickly declares to Link "Link, behind you!" But as he tries to get the first strike on the shadowy being emerging from the water the teenage Overlord runs head first into an invisible, magical barrier that perfectly surrounds the edge of the platform he is on. Wondering now in a panic if Link actually heard him, Riku steps back and watches as a dark, pitch black copy of the Hero of Time steps onto the water and draws a blasphemous replica of the Master Sword from his sheath to strike down Link.

Link, still moving towards the tree, appears unaware of his dark copy as it moves across the water like an assassin, his footsteps mimicking that of the Hero of Time to avoid drawing suspicion on himself. With a sneer crossing the face of the shadow, he takes his sword horizontally at the hilt and holds it above his right shoulder with his vision aimed at the area of Link's back where the heart lies behind the flesh. The assassin doesn't say a word, only letting his sword speak for him as he lunges it forward while Riku yells the Hero of Time's name desperately in a final attempt to alert him of the danger behind him. The blade's tip draws closer and closer…But is not allowed to reach its destination as Link swings his body around and uses his Master Sword to strike against the sharp blade of his copy, hitting it with such force that the assassin's limb is pushed to the left against his will, causing his eyes to widen briefly in surprise as his target looks at him with courageous eyes and asks vehemently "Who are you supposed to be? And why have you taken my appearance?"

The shadow, upon coming face to face with his target and his plan having failed, decides to completely mirror Link's actions, up to and including his lip movements while staying mute. The Hero of Time takes note of this and stands straight up, keeping his head turned towards his dark copy as he walks to the left. The shadow follows, his feet making the exact same sounds on the water as Link, confirming to the Hylian as to just how the shadow was nearly able to kill him. "Very well, if you won't speak…" The Hero of Time stops in place and swings his sword out beside himself, the copy repeating this action perfectly but this time adding in a slight smirk to his expression as he awaits Link's first move. With sword grasped tightly and eyes arched firmly, the Hero of Time dashes across the water with the Master Sword grasped in both hands, his arms swung out to the right of his neck as the copy does the same.

Making sure that his shield doesn't get in the way, Link swiftly swings his blade diagonally downward in a mighty arc, the peerless steel meeting the blasphemous black metal of his copy's blade mid-swing and causing the two to lock blades a few inches above the water, both figures grunting as they use their physical might to try and overpower the over to no avail. "Great, so this guy not only has my appearance copied, but my strength as well…" Link notes to himself as he pulls his blade back slightly and straightens his body to position the Master Sword below the center of his waist before he leaps back and takes a moment to catch his breath. "How am I supposed to overpower myself…" Link asks himself quietly as he sees Navi flying around with a concerned demeanor about her.

"Link…Are you all right?" She asks with a couple flutters of her wings. Giving his fairy companion a very warm smile, the Hero of Time replies with "Yeah…I'm perfectly…" Pausing briefly in the middle of his sentence, Link turns towards his dark copy as a look of realization crosses his face upon noticing something that the shadow is missing. "Fine…" Finishing his sentence off in a tone that matches his moment of realization, the Hero of Time notes that his dark copy doesn't have a fairy floating around him. It didn't take long after that for Link to realize one important thing about this dark copy, and as he bravely slants his eyebrows and sheathes the Master Sword much to Navi's surprise he thinks to himself "You've only copied the parts of me that you can see…You can't mimic what isn't visible to you. Which means…" As he ends his thoughts off just like that, the Hero of Time notices that his copy hasn't sheathed his Master Sword, more than likely because he is interpreting his actions as a sign of surrender.

Smirking at the prospect of ending the legendary Link's life, the shadow rushes forward without a care in the world and raises his blade high above his head so he can assure the hero's death with a clean cleave straight down through his body. But as he leaps into the air, he leaves himself completely defenseless, and Link smiles courageously at this prime opportunity given to him while he reaches into his tunic and pulls out the familiar form of the Megaton Hammer. The shadow flinches in surprise, but continues to descend while swinging the blade downward to hasten the process of Link's demise. It was far too late for him though, as the Hero of Time grasps the hammer with both hands and performs one mighty swing to the right that clobbers the shadow in the side of his body and launches him across the air like a bullet as the full force of the hammer's impact ripples across his form.

The dark replica crashes against the water, bouncing back into the air quickly as he is flipped onto his back and forced to hit the water once more, another bounce causing him to impact the side of this seemingly wall-less void with enough force to put cracks in the white veil that has been hiding the truth about this room. The dark copy falls belly first onto the ground a few seconds later, his blasphemous sword clanking against the ground as he snarls and lifts his head up to see what his opponent is up to now…Only to met by a rain of three already lit bombs, all of which land around his body just as he grasps his right hand on the handle of his Master Sword. The fuses burn down into the confines of the bombs themselves, and the shadow only has a second to grit his teeth in anger as a series of explosions consume his body.

With smoke covering him as he is launched the air, the shadow lets out its first noise in the form of a quiet hazy shriek as the damage wrought on its body have caused his appearance to distort and break apart at the seams. The shadow lands on the water's surface on his knees, the upper part of his body leaning forward in defiance of gravity's wishes for a few brief seconds until he slowly creaks his head up to face his opponent with an angered glare on his face…And finds himself quickly impaled through the forehead by a single arrow shot from the raised bow of the Hero of Time. The anger on the shadow's face is turned into one of utter shock as he feels himself slowly becoming a hollow, lifeless shell, his appearance fizzling around with a static-y texture as his fake Master Sword drops out of his trembling hands and falls to the ground, disintegrating without a trace left behind.

Looking over at the Hero of Time with most of his body frozen in place, the dark copy widens his eyes to a rather creepy size and glares madly at the Hylian as a dark, bloody fog leaks out of the arrow wound. _"It is only the beginning…Hero of Time…" _He says in a raspy, echoing voice very similar to Link's own. _"The events set in motion seven years ago…The very freedom you granted our master…It will all be put to good use soon under the guidance of the King of Evil…It was fun to take on your appearance, Hylian, even if it was for such a short time…After all, what better form for a shadow to take than that of the herald of Kakariko Village's destruction?" _Fading out of existence with only those cryptic words being spoken, the dark copy leaves the Hero of Time with one last coy smile, and the arrow that ended his life falls through his now ethereal body and falls onto the water's surface below.

The barrier keeping Riku out of the battle dispels, while the Hero of Time slowly puts his bow away and thinks to himself about what his dark copy said upon departure from this world. The teenage Overlord clearly didn't hear what was said though, considering he walks over beside Link and says to him "Whew, glad you managed to beat that fake Link…I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help." Lamenting his ineffectualness, the teenage Overlord looks over as the Hero of Time smiles and says to him "Actually, I heard that faint warning of yours. Had you not tried to warn me, I probably wouldn't have noticed the fake me approaching. And Navi…" Turning to his fairy companion with a thankful smile on his face, Link says "Were it not for you, I wouldn't have been able to figure out his weakness." The fairy is surprised at her friend's show of thankfulness, especially after her earlier doubts that he had forgotten all about her, and with a slowing flutter she says quietly "L-Link…Thank you." With the white fog fading away to reveal a normal, sea stone covered room, the heroes turn towards the building while the Hero of Time says "Alright, lets keep moving…"

_Next Time: The Monstrosity within the Water Temple_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Serenade of Water Final: Giant Aquatic Amoeba, Morpha**

With the defeat of "Dark Link" out of the way, the two heroes enter the mysterious building that the shadowy creature was guarding, their way open thanks to the dismissal of the iron bars blocking the doorway. Inside they find a lone large treasure chest on top of a small ledge, and Link walks over to it to open the lid and check the contents. Pulling his body out of the bright yellow light, the Hero of Time turns himself around and triumphantly raises his arms into the air as usual with a device similar in design to the Hookshot yet slightly longer and darker blue floating between his palms.

_Link found the __**Longshot!**__ Its an upgraded Hookshot, meaning that it can extend to twice the length of that outdated model you've been carrying around the last two temples! You should perhaps consider selling the old one to get some more Rupees now…_

As Link reverts to a more natural pose and places the Longshot against his right palm, he reaches into his tunic with his free hand and pulls out the Hookshot, lifting his head up to look at Riku before taking a glance back at the old device and asking him "Hey Riku, you think you'd like to keep this Hookshot?" The teenage Overlord, taken aback by the suddenness of the question, stutters out to the Hero of Time "U-Umm…Sure, if you think we'll come across any more puzzles that will allow me to use the Hookshot's length…" "You never know." Link says with an optimistic shrug of the shoulders, and with that Riku happily accepts the gift and raises his right hand into the air to catch the Hookshot as its tossed his way. Once its in his hand, the teenage Overlord suddenly turns around against his will and raises his hands into the air much like Link has after acquiring a major item…

_Riku has been given the __**Hookshot!**__ He'll more than likely not need it throughout the rest of this quest, but in the end it's the thought that counts more than the utility of the item given…_

After that strange spectacle that took hold of his body has ended, Riku lowers his head and arms and blinks a couple of times before shaking off that weird feeling inside of him and placing the Hookshot into his right pants pocket. Turning back to Link, the teenage Overlord says "Thanks" for the item and then suggests that the two of them go back the way they came to return to the central tower and from there head to where the monster more than likely lies. Thus the two of them head on through every puzzle they dealt with before, only this time Link has the Longshot to reach the marks that were once out of range, which makes climbing out of the area with the waterfall of platforms a lot easier than it would have been with the normal Hookshot. Riku manages to get through that area by using his Earth powers to pull one of the platforms from the slant and use it as a pseudo-hovercraft to join Link on the other side, where he then drops the platform into the chasm.

Back near the central tower, Link pulls out the map he had acquired at the beginning of the temple and unfurls it to look it over. Noticing a skull and crossbones mark on top of a lone room to the north of where the lies are currently standing, he immediately deduces that that's where the monster they are seeking lies, and says to his ally as he puts said map away "You still have that golden key?" Riku, reaching into his right pant's pocket, pulls said key out and grasps it tightly in his hand before nodding his head and replying with "Yep, I have no intention of letting go of this." "Alright then, lets go." With that lone comment, the Hero of Time dashes forward and notices a stone mark on a pillar on the northern ledge, which he grapples over to with his newly acquired Longshot. Once on the ground, he retracts the chain fully and turns to wait for Riku to cross.

Looking around briefly to find something to use since the Hookshot won't make it over, the teenage Overlord remembers the stone platform that is placed before the entrance to the series of rooms where they found the Longshot. Thus, with a gentle raise of his left hand, Riku mentally grabs onto the platform and works to guide it across the water in order to put it between himself and the ledge he needs to get onto. After breaking his concentration on the platform, the teenage Overlord performs two strong jumps to join the Hero of Time once more, and the two heroes make their way through the nearby door. On the other side is a tall slanted hill with three metal tops going back and forth between the walls to cut off most of the heroes' path of travel, but since they are made of an Earth based substance the teenage Overlord simply raises his hand into the air to use his magnetic powers and lift the tops into the air while the two heroes slowly ascend the slippery slope. Once at the top Riku drops the tops and lets them go back along their normal path, and he uses the Boss Key he acquired to undo the gigantic golden lock in front of him and cause the large golden scaled rock door to slide into the ceiling and allow the heroes passage into the next room.

Inside this new area is a square, twenty foot deep pool of water with four square pillars poking out just above the surface. Each pillar looked rather slick in appearance, and all of them were adorned with a ladder on each side that were obviously designed to save those who fell into the water against their will. Speaking of that, the two heroes glanced over at the water and found that it was textured rather oddly. It looked very slimy and foggy, as if it was tainted by some sort of foreign contaminant. Navi, being the ever alert and obvious speaking member of the group, fluttered around and said to the heroes "Watch out you two…I'm sensing something strange inside of the water!" Taking heed of the fairy's warning with a nod of his head, Link leaps onto the closest pillar to the left to get a better vantage point of the pool while Riku senses something moving about in the water.

"Wait a second…This is the Boss Room. So that means…" As Riku remembers the significance of the current room, he watches Link stand idly by on the pillar with his head turning back and forth to gaze into the pool while the surface of the water ripples to show movement underneath. "Link! The monster is in the water! Get your Master Sword ready!" This time wishing to prevent a sudden surprise that separates the two heroes before a battle, Riku thrusts his right hand into the air and calls out to the Hero of Time to grab his attention, and as the water begins to bubble intensely the moment Link turns his head to look at Riku something slowly emerges from the slimy depths. Taking the form of a rippling tendril with a thick body near the surface of the water, the monstrosity that the two heroes have come to slay moves through its form a glistening gelatinous membrane that peers through its bubbling skin towards the Hero of Time and takes note of his appearance.

Hearing the gurgling coming from within the creature's body, Link swiftly turns his head back around and is taken aback by the monster's true form, and as he draws his Master Sword to confront the beast he watches how instead of lashing towards him the slimy tendril vibrates downward in a wavy pattern and moves the membrane back into the water that composes its entire body, the tendril itself following suit as Link cautiously stands around and waits for the monster to make its first move. Navi, who is still flying around her friend, says to him urgently "I recognize that creature! Its Morpha, the master of the Water Temple! It has full control over the power of water, so watch out!"

Riku, quickly drawing his sword out into existence in the mental grasp of his right hand, dashes to the right and moves around until he is at the back of the pool, where he looks down and tries to find Morpha's membrane, only to see it swimming down behind the pillar Link is currently standing on. Raising his head up quickly, the teenage Overlord says "Link, turn around quickly! I'll cover the outside of the pool for now, you just worry about the inner section until he emerges." Swinging his sword around once in a circle as he loses vision on Morpha, Riku waits for the creature to try and attack the now turned around Link so he can attack the membrane should it make itself known. Meanwhile, the Hero of Time takes his Master Sword and shield and readies his guard for an attack on any possible front.

For the moment being though, the Morpha raises one watery tendril out of the pool and lashes down on top of the pillar that Link is standing on, its slimy liquid dispersing from its form across the pillar itself while the Hero of Time steps aside to avoid being crushed under the weight of the tendril. Physics take hold on the membrane after the tendril moves, causing the vulnerable muscle to sway back and forth along the length of the watery limb and leave itself open to Link's sword…Or so it would seem at first. The Hero of Time swings his sword down onto the tendril, only to find his blade pushing against a gelatinous wall that makes it so he is only within an inch of the membrane itself.

Sensing the evil-banishing powers of the Master Sword, Morpha shrieks and retracts itself back into the water to keep itself safe for the time being until it can devise a more proper method of attack against the Hero of Time. Its membrane floats along the surface of the water, its supposed eyes poking out to focus on the Hylian as he turns his body to also pay attention to the creature. All the while, Riku checks the room around him and sees a multitude of rocky spikes that he could more than likely use as projectiles against Morpha…Though he has to stop his left hand for a moment and think about whether or not he'd be able to get the monster's membrane while it is under that thick, slimy water. "Its worth a shot anyways…" He thinks to himself as he finishes lifting his hand towards the left wall of spikes and waits for the membrane to float around the pillar and move more towards the center of the pool.

At that particular point the teenage Overlord flings his left hand towards the pool itself, his mental prowess ripping one of the stone spikes from the wall and flinging it through the air until gravity takes hold and brings it down towards Morpha's membrane. However, the creature appears to have eyes all around, for it senses the incoming threat and wraps itself around in a thick slimy dome that cushions most of the spike's impact, though because of the more pointed aspect of the stone it does manage to breech halfway through the dome before it is dispelled and the monster appears relieved as the stone falls into its pool and sinks to the bottom without touching it. Taking note of Morpha's sudden defensive stance when a spiked object approached it, Link turns towards his teenaged ally and says to him "Hey, good idea there Riku!" Though his tone sounds highly appreciative towards Riku, the teenage Overlord fails to understand just why Link said that until he takes out his Longshot, at which point he has a spark of brilliance and thinks to himself "Oh yeah, that's right…" As he remembers Morpha's weakness.

Link points the Longshot at the membrane and activates the device, the chain shooting out and poking into the vulnerable muscles inside, which in turn causes some viscera to shoot out into the pool before the Hero of Time drags Morpha onto the platform where he is currently at. Stunned thanks to the hook lodged into his membrane, Morpha is unable to use its powers as Link uses his Master Sword to slash down onto the slimy monstrosity. One cut causes some of the creature's structure to break apart and disperse onto the platform while droplets of water leak from its cut body, and with the pain coursing through its system Morpha quickly retreats into the pool before Link can hit him again. The Master Sword's tip clinks against the platform, with Link lifting his head up to watch as the water monstrosity merges with the water around him once more and rises high out of the surface in the form of a gigantic tendril shaped creature with multiple, smaller tendrils poking up around him.

"Well, this is not what I expected to happen…" Riku thinks to himself as his eyes widen in surprise and he quickly works his way around to the left side of the battlefield so he can ignite his blade and swing it towards the creature with one broad stroke to send a wave of fire that heats up the water and causes the side of Morpha's beastly form to become a bubbling mass that the teenage Overlord targets with a rocky spike that he flings with a telekinetic thrust of his left hand. Though the heated water is easier to break through, Morpha simply moves its membrane up to avoid the spike, though it costs him a good amount of mass for a short time, since once the creature turns towards Riku its absorbs more water into its body to increase its size back to normal.

However, Link takes advantage of the momentary distraction his ally gave him to aim his Longshot at the membrane and launch the chain towards it. But this time Morpha is wise to the Hero of Time's tricks, and uses its smaller tendrils to grab Link around the gut and wrench him into the air. This in turn causes the chain from the Longshot to nick the side of the bestial face inside of digging deep into Morpha's body like it was originally meant to. The Hero of Time is then held upside down, the tendril tightening and causing him to drop his Longshot onto the top of the pillar. Link thrusts his arm down the second the gadget is released from his hand, hoping to catch it before it falls out of reach only to fail as Morpha pulls his tendrils higher into the air with one sudden tug. Keeping the Hero of Time above the height of his body, the monstrosity smashes him back first against the ceiling, the impact causing Link to flinch as the room trembles and the ceiling gains cracks that dislodge bits of rock into the water.

Though it hurt Link to take the full brunt of the impact with the ceiling, he hangs on as hard as he can to the Master Sword and looks down at the watery monstrosity as its membrane hangs loftily in plain sight at the very top of the slimy mass, meaning that all the Hero of Time would have to do is get out of the grasp of this tendril and he'd be able to easily take the creature down. Riku, sensing Link's intentions because of how well he was paying attention to the direction his eyes were pointed towards, quickly looks towards the mighty Morpha as it turns to face him and says to him bravely as he folds his right arms behind his body as far as his muscles and joints will allow "Time to send you back under where you belong…" Directing the flow of his veil of air towards the edges of his sword, the teenage Overlord compresses the it together to create a multi-bladed shroud of wind that can cut through anything he sets his sights on.

However, it was very thin, and the odds of hitting Morpha's membranes would be very low considering it was currently looking at him. Also, the creature sensed Riku's intentions, and began retaliation by raising some more tendrils out of the water to lash towards the boy. With great agility the teenage Overlord leaps left and right, a couple times he goes over the tendrils and at one he is forced to use his Earth powers with one hand to flip a spike underneath himself to create a stable platform that allows him to fly around the room to avoid a multitude of tendrils that launch out in various directions to strike the teenage Overlord before he goes to a certain area. As the tendrils puncture the walls and stick in place, Riku makes sure that his focus stays true on the wind and leaps off the spike, letting it crash apart against the wall as he look at the tendrils keeping Link suspended and swings his blade across the air in front of him to unleash a wave that flies across as swiftly as a whisper and just as quickly cuts through the tendril to break the Hero of Time free from entanglement.

With gravity immediately grabbing onto him, the Hero of Time tries to turn his body upright while grasping the Master Sword's handle with both hands and raising it above his head, where he would proceed to thrust it forward and upon piercing Morpha's skin he would drag the sharp blade through the membrane and the rest of the bestial body to slow his descent while simultaneously finishing the monster off. However, despite most of its tendrils being stuck in the wall, Morpha notices Link's plan and leans its body backwards to avoid being cut down the middle, and the Hero of Time is quickly forced to point his blade downwards and plant it into the pillar to absorb most of the force from his landing. Cursing the fact that this plan didn't work, Riku grits his teeth and leaps high into the air as the slimy monstrosity pulls its tendrils from the wall and swings them all his way.

With sword set ablaze the teenage Overlord uses his Earth powers to launch two spikes at Morpha's membrane, his current intention to keep the monster focused all on him instead of Link so the Hero of Time can hopefully take advantage of this distraction to come up with a plan. As the spikes impact with the creature's body and Riku lands on the ground to launch a wave of fire at the monster he thinks to himself "Darn it, I wasn't expecting Morpha to put up this much of a fight…Is this also Ganondorf's doing?" As he poses that question to himself while once again feeling guilty if his theory does turn out to be the truth, the teenage Overlord watches Morpha's skin boil and through it he sees Link taking his sword back in the grasp of one hand while bending down to pick up the Longshot.

With one plan on his mind and no idea about what to do should this fail, the Hero of Time courageously points the Longshot at Morpha's membrane and shoots the hook off without any hesitation in his mind. The monster gets no chance to react as the chain punctures straight through his membrane and latches onto the other side, and with one click Link lets the chain retract into the device with the membrane moving straight towards him without it having any chance to free itself. Not wanting to let Morpha escapes into the slimy depths it has domain over, Link takes the Master Sword in his right hand and thrusts it straight forward like a lance, releasing the hook's grip on the membrane so his sword can pierce right through the creature while he lets out a strong sounding grunt.

With a shriek of pain, Morpha's crystal clear veil that hadn't been noticed until now disappears as it pulsates back and forth rapidly before swiftly exploding in a burst of water droplets. The monstrous beastly body that the membrane once inhabited turns into a swirling waterspout that connects to the ceiling and slowly drains out every last drop of water from the pool, culminating in becoming a hexagonal puddle that shrinks down to the size of a single droplet that dehydrates and vanishes from sight. Left in the pool is the portal to the Chamber of Sages that Link needs to take, and with a slightly turn of his head towards Riku after sheathing his Master Sword the Hero of Time says "Good work again Riku…I'll see you outside once I get the Water Medallion from Ru-" Biting his tongue before the name slips out, Link looks at Riku and can tell from a simple glance at the teenage Overlord's unsurprised expression that he had already figured out the Sage of Water's identity. Thus, with a melancholy look on his face the Hero of Time says "…Just wait for me, I won't be long" and swiftly leaps into the portal to be carried away by the magical crystal of the goddesses.

Thus left to his own devices for a little bit, the teenage Overlord puts away his sword and begins to head out of the room with another boss left conquered behind him. He is quite saddened by the fact that this temple doesn't give him much freedom to fly around in, but knows that once he gets back to Lake Hylia he should be able to move around in the sky for a bit in order to celebrate yet another victory. After re-equipping his air to move around underwater, Riku slowly makes his way to the temple entrance and leaves back to Lake Hylia, where he is not surprised by the fact that the water level has risen back to normal levels because of Morpha's defeat. Not just that, but from a simple observation the teenage Overlord noticed that the water now feels untainted by evil. As he pokes his head out of the water and smiles over this fact, he hears a familiar voice speaking out calmly from the island above "As the water rises, the evil is being purged from the lake…Good job Link, you have done well."

Recognizing the voice as that of Shiek's, the teenage Overlord raises his eyebrows out of suspicion towards just why the Shiekah was here and gently lifts himself out of the water so he can fly around the edge of the island and get behind Shiek without being detected, fittingly using stealth to sneak up on one so adept to the shadows. As he rises up and lands onto the hexagon platform he sees the sun starting to set in the distance and is about to think about it when Shiek says "I know you are behind me, Elemental Overlord…" Flinching in surprise as the Shiekah turns around and stares at him with an emotionless look in his eyes, Riku asks "What clued you in?" With a low-pitched chuckle, Shiek replies to him with "You tried to hide in the shadows, but neglected to stop the sound of wind flowing quietly around your body…"

Feeling slightly embarrassed for failing to notice the air veil was still around him, Riku shuts it off with a simple thought and steps off the hexagon platform so Link doesn't land on top of him when he returns. Once his vision is more centered on Shiek, the teenage Overlord then asks "So, when are you going to tell Link the truth?" "When the last two sages have been freed, and Link has decided he is ready to face Ganondorf." Shiek swiftly replies, his emotions remaining unchanged even as Riku says to him in a puzzled tone "I don't get why you don't just tell him now…He's really worried about you, and if you are worried about Ganondorf…Well, if he tries anything Link and I can just fight him and take him down without having to go through the trouble of freeing the other sages."

"That is out of the question, Elemental Overlord." Shiek says, his glare becoming firmer and his tone of voice more authoritative. This silenced the teenage Overlord, who took his arms and held them down beside his hips as Shiek said to him "Please try to understand this…The only way to truly stop Ganondorf is to gather the Sages. As it stands now with the Triforce of Power along with the darkness he robbed from you, you have no chance of killing him even with Link and the Master Sword helping you out. And even if you take back what is rightfully yours, the King of Evil has weakened the Sacred Realm with his misdeeds, which in turn has dampened the Master Sword's powers…Our only chance of delivering divine punishment is to combine our powers and seal Ganondorf away forever."

"…I'm really sorry Shiek. I know what is going to happen in this world, but I've made things difficult for you and the Sages by trying to fight Ganondorf…" Riku offers up an honest apology for what he has done thus far, with his head turned away out of guilt as Shiek says to him "I would only be offended by that if you left us to our fate after your mistake…You have chosen to stay and owe up for what you did wrong, and you have made a good honest effort to avoid revealing anything to Link…For that, you have my thanks." As Riku's expression brightens up because of the Shiekah's compliment, unknowingly behind him Link is descending onto the hexagon platform from a beam of blue light. Shiek, being more aware of this than his conversational partner, says politely to the teenage Overlord "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Stepping aside for Shiek so he can speak with the Hero of Time as he walks off the hexagon platform, Riku goes completely silent so he can hear what they have to say. Compared to the last time Link emerged from the Chamber of Sages, he appears to have a more accepting look in his eyes towards the identity of the awakened Sage. With a broad smile the Hero of Time says to Shiek "Ruto wanted me to say thank you for rescuing her…" The Shiekah, deep down feeling somewhat guilty that she freed the Zora Princess simply for her to die in order to become a Sage, looks away for a moment and says to the Hero of Time "…I see." Once he looks back at Link, he then proceeds to say in his usual tone of voice "Another person brings another reason to motivate us to save Hyrule…And soon, two more will come. The Sage of Shadow, and the Sage of Spirit…To find them, you will have to look in places both familiar and foreign to you…Though perhaps the people there will think that it should be familiar to you."

With Shiek's vague remarks leaving Link in a state of thought, he finds himself interrupted swiftly as the Shiekah says to him "For now though…Let us look at the Lake that has been restored by yours and Princess Ruto's efforts…" Turning around and walking to the edge of the island to gaze out at the sunlight reflecting waters, Shiek is joined at the side by Link, who sniffs in the warm lakeside air and says with a calm sigh "Shiek…What will happen to the Zoras now?" As Link asks this question, Shiek can be seen taking a couple quiet steps back as he prepares to depart. However, before he makes his presence scarce he says to Link "In time the domain will melt…And the Zoras will become masters of the waters just as they should be…" With a solemn look in his eye as he turns to Riku and nods as a type of goodbye to him, Shiek says to Link "Perhaps we will see each other again soon…"

The Hero of Time turns around, but misses Shiek as he leaps on top of the nearby tree and looks down at the two heroes from above. He is saddened by Link's confusion for reasons only he could explain, and thus to avoid any further compromising of his emotions the Shiekah leaps off the top of the tree and dives into the Lake, vanishing with a mighty splash just as the Hero of Time turns to see what is happening. With Shiek having departed for the time being, Link turns towards Riku and says to him "Hey, Riku" to grab his attention. The teenage Overlord turns around, and the Hylian says to him "We should try and get back to Kakariko Village before it gets too dark out. If we head off now and I call Epona to us, we should be able to make it back in time." Agreeing with this remark with a simple nod, Riku follows Link off the island by going across the many bridges connecting it with the mainland, leaving behind them the Water Temple, where the Hero of Time once again had to let go of a friend…

_Next Time: The Falling Shadow_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: The Creeping Shadow**

After crossing the bridges above the now refilled Lake Hylia and making their way across the grassy plains until they pass through the rocky crevice and arrive back in Hyrule Field. There are a couple of fences that are too high for the heroes to climb over blocking the way to freedom, but on a nearby stone wall there existed a ladder that was stable enough for the two of them to climb up and bypass the fences. "I guess if it wasn't for the Serenade of Water, I'd have to use Epona to get to Lake Hylia…" Link comments as he pulls himself onto the wall and turns around to help Riku up. Once there, the heroes walk to the left and leap down onto the grassy knoll, climbing to the top of it and looking towards where Kakariko Village lies in the mountains, and as Link looks towards the slowly darkening skies he notices something odd floating above the village.

Leaning his head forward as Riku walks by his side, the Hero of Time blocks what little sunlight he can out of sight by placing his right hand in front of his forehead, and with his eyes widening briefly in fear upon noticing unnatural stacks of smoke rising up from the village itself. Pulling his body back slowly in disbelief as a fear struck expression stays frozen on his face, Link mutters out quietly "No way…" And with much haste he reaches into his tunic and pulls out the Ocarina of Time, stating to Riku after the later questions his behavior "We need to get to Kakariko Village now! Its under attack!" The teenage Overlord's eyes flinch momentarily as he sees the clear signs of panic in Link's demeanor as he places the Ocarina in his mouth and begins to play 'Epona's Song' as calmly as physically possible.

The song echoes throughout all of Hyrule, reaching out to the majestic horse in the form of a bountiful gale of wind that wraps around the mare as she is seen trotting about happily with the Kokiris in their village. Recognizing the melody carried by the breeze, Epona gently backs away from the Kokiris and lets out a brave neigh that echoes back to Link, causing the Hero of Time to open his eyelids and lower his Ocarina, where he then proceeds to glance to the right and watch as Epona sprints across the field to approach him, arriving in front of him in a matter of seconds despite the great distance between Lake Hylia and the Lost Woods itself. Putting his instrument away, Link takes one step forward as Epona slows her advance and lowers her head to accept her rider's gentle stroke of her mane.

"Epona…I'm sorry to call on you so suddenly, but…" Apologizing to Epona before he runs around to her side and gets on top of her ready to ride, Link turns his horse around with a simple gesture before proclaiming "We need to save Kakariko Village!" As he prepares to command Epona to ride like the wind through the fields of Hyrule, the Hero of Time glances over at Riku, only for the teenage Overlord to say urgently with a thrust of his right fingers towards the in peril village "Don't wait up for me, get moving!" Without a single other moment of hesitation, the Hero of Time grips onto the reins attached to Epona's collar and gives them one mighty whip to urge his gallant stead to sprint off across Hyrule field. As the horse dashes forward across many feet of grassy plains, Link leans forward to brace himself against the breeze that blew against his body.

Meanwhile, Riku takes a moment to remember just what is attacking Kakariko Village at this point in time, and as the realization grasps his mind he says to himself "You know, forget the next temple…If we aren't too late, Link and I can stop the attacking creature without having to enter its domain." Smiling at the prospect of averting a lot of trouble for himself and the Hero of Time in the long run, the teenage Overlord swiftly kicks his feet off the ground and dashes across Hyrule Field to try and catch up with Link before the Hylian makes it to the village. He has less of a problem with the wind since his current speed is only slightly less than that of Epona's, but not like it would be an issue for him even if it was working against him as he ran. Losing sight of the Hero of Time after a couple more seconds, Riku widens his eyes briefly with determination and tries to pick up the pace before Link ends up confronting the being currently attacking Kakariko Village by himself.

As the Lon Lon Ranch becomes visible to the left of him, Riku pays attention to the flow of the nearby creek and moves to the left of it so he can follow it until he arrives at the bridge he needs to cross, at which point he quickly grinds his shoes against the ground to slow himself down so he can turn and dash across it to arrive at the grassy field near the staircase leading up to Kakariko Village. He quickly turns his head to the left and glances over at Epona, who is standing patiently yet concernedly by herself, which is a rather bothersome thing for Riku to witness as he stops momentarily by her side and asks her in an inquiring tone "Epona, did Link head up the staircase just now?" The horse neighs in a solemn tone and lightly shakes her head, confirming to the teenage Overlord that Link had gotten into the village far sooner than he had expected him to. "Darn it Riku, why did you have to go and urge him…"

Cursing himself for putting the Hero of Time into a situation that he could have easily avoided if he were able to better recall the crucial details of this world, Riku quickly leaves Epona behind and runs up the staircase to head into Kakariko Village before its too late. However, upon passing through the gate and watching as storm clouds cover the skies and bring rain down upon the land, the teenage Overlord glances on in horror as he sees that half of the buildings in this once peaceful village have been mysterious set on fire, though the raindrops are doing a good job of putting them out for the moment. There are no citizens in sight, which greatly worries Riku for the few seconds he ponders that matter before he looks on ahead and sees Link kneeling down with sword and shield at the ready…And Shiek is lying flat on the ground in front of him, unconscious.

"How did Shiek get here so…" Shaking his head before he starts wasting time asking rather pointless questions to himself, Riku runs over and quickly bends his knees down in front of the Shiekah as Link raises his head and hears his ally say to him "What happened here?" Despite the teenage Overlord's attempts at obliviousness, he still showed genuine concern for Shiek's well-being as he took his right hand and flipped the Shiekah's right arm around so he can check his pulse. As he does this, Link says to Riku "I-I don't know what's going on here…Shiek was examining the well behind me, and the next thing I know he is being tossed around in the air against his will before…Well…" Trying not to speak of Shiek's current condition, Link quietly ends his sentence in a melancholy tone of voice.

After checking Shiek's pulse, Riku slowly moves his right hand away as he senses something amiss in the air. There was a very dark sensation echoing across Kakariko Village, the main vibration originating in the well that Link mentioned the Shiekah peering into. Standing up to look over at the well as the vibration lightens, the teenage Overlord jumps back in shock and immediately summons his sword from his right hand as he sees a phantasmal shadow creeping out of the well and making its way across the village houses. This shadow was so murky in appearance that it was almost invisible to the naked eye, and the lack of sunlight as of now didn't help matters as the shadow made its way across to the hilltops behind Riku and turned around to take the two heroes on.

Link, noticing and feeling that the shadow was readying itself to finish Shiek off, stood up and quickly ran in front of Riku much to the teenage Overlord's surprise and held his Master Sword behind him while bracing his body on the ground and preparing his shield to defend himself, Riku and Shiek from the incoming monstrosity that casts the feint shadow down onto Kakariko Village. Thinking to himself "Link, as thankful as I am for your bravery, I'm not going to let you take a hit for me and Shiek…Not while I can do something to prevent this event for happening" Riku clenches the fist his sword is hovering in front of and steels his mind before whispering to only himself "So much for keeping this hidden…" Desperate times called for desperate measures, and as the shadow thrust itself along the ground to head towards the Hero of Time Riku leaped into the air and took flight right before the Hylian's surprised eyes and with one swing down across the supposed empty sky the teenage Overlord feels the tip of his blade connect with some foreign form of flesh, and with a quick glance at his blade as a distorted growl of annoyance fills his eardrums he notices a green and red liquid trailing off of the tip.

"Yep…This is definitely him…" Recognizing the blood of the creature he struck, Riku's eyebrows slant downward as he looks down and watches the shadow retreat a few feet to avoid being struck again, all the while the creature casting it wonders just how he could have been noticed. Freezing his body before the momentum from his slash carries him forward, the teenage Overlord straightens his body out and suspends himself in mid-air before glancing behind him and watching as Link stares at him both suspiciously and in awe, and with a light sigh Riku says in an apologetic tone upon realizing how much of his trust has been lost with the Hero of Time "I will explain myself later Link, right now you need to get out your bow and arrow so-" As Riku takes those few sweet seconds to prepare the Hero of Time for battle, the creature lunges an invisible limb straight into the front of the teenage Overlord's body, impacting with great force as the distortion of wind from his motions give him only a second to turn and face the attack.

Riku is sent flying through the air, crashing into the brick wall behind the well and ending up in a damp, cobweb infested pocket as dusty bricks clattered down upon his weakened body. He was still conscious, but just barely. Poking his head up as his right eyelid limply tries to stay open, the teenage Overlord watches in horror as the invisible monster moves over to Link and grabs him in the grasp of what can only assumed to be his right hand and begins shaking him violently around in the air for seconds on end, and as Riku growls out angrily "You damn monster…" The invisible beast unfolds his hand and presses the Hero of Time against his palm before slamming him down against the ground and pressing against his body with all of his might, crushing down upon his organs and muscles until the Hero of Time's cries of pain end and he is forced unconscious.

"That's enough!" Riku, enraged beyond belief at both the sight of the monster's violent assault on Link and his own inability to prevent this event from happening, pushes against his elbows to lift himself up off the musky ground and get on his feet, where he then kicks off and bursts forward at high speeds with a rocket plume of flames left behind in the hole in the wall as he launches himself towards the invisible beast and points his sword forward beside his body, thinking to himself "This may exhaust me to use this outside the natural form…But I can't let the beast stick around any longer!" Fiercely shoving his sword through the air while infusing the blades with Light, Riku quickly finds himself growing tired as his strength begins to dampen, but pushes on through the last few inches of air needed to pierce through the center of the invisible monster.

Though the teenage Overlord fails to breech the heart, he makes it far enough into the beast's flesh to expunge the light through his muscles and burn a good chunk of skin off, and as Riku pulls his sword out and his blurring vision is filled with the light released from the gash in the beast's body he slowly falls to the ground and notices briefly as the monstrosity's true, gruesome form becomes visible. As he impacts back first onto the wet, grassy floor and his arms are laid out beside his nearly unconscious body, the teenage Overlord hears the beast speak to him. Though most of the words are impossible to understand due to the glyphic nature of them, there is a name that is spoken in a raspy, submissive voice that Riku manages to overhear… _"Demise…"_

_Riku awakens again, this time finding himself in the same nightmarish scenario that has plagued his unconscious mind twice before. This time, however, it appears that he is looking further ahead into the very scene of destruction than he did the other two times. Now that mysterious shadow looming behind Ganondorf has faded away, yet the changes to the King of Evil's appearance have not been reverted. As his body is turned into a shadow by the cast down lightning, Ganondorf tosses something through the air that Riku subconsciously catches with his weakly extending hands. The object rests on his palms, but it takes a good while for the teenage Overlord to regain his focus and identify the all too familiar object._

_It was the Ocarina of Time, scratched and cracked yet still appearing functional as it lies in Riku's hands. Confused at the presence of this device and more-so at the fact that Ganondorf handed it to him without Link in sight the teenage Overlord raises his head up and stares into the glowing eyes of the King of Evil as he holds his sword into the air, pointing the tip of the blade at his neck before saying in an echoing voice "Play it…" Frightened and trembling for reasons he can't explain, the teenage Overlord slowly lifts the instrument up to his mouth and wraps his lips around the blowhole ready to play a song…And the dream once again ends there._

Opening his eyelids to immediately feel the raindrops fall upon his tired face, Riku groans in pain and says quietly to himself "Man, that creature hit like a tru-Err, Goron." Quickly correcting his terminology due to the lack of vehicles on this planet, the teenage Overlord tries to pull the upper part of his body off the muddy grass ground, and with a brief thought he dispels the small thin cushion of air that he put below his body to avoid dirtying his clothing just seconds before he went unconscious. Of course, he had taken no precautionary measures to prevent his skin and the front of his clothes from becoming wet due to the rain, but that would be dealt with once the rain stops and he can assure himself that he'd be ready to use his flames. As he stands up and quickly looks around, he notices that the fires that were burning some of the buildings down had been put out by the rain, which brings a sigh of relief from Riku's lips as he folded his arms in front of his chest and thought to himself "At least that monster didn't destroy the village…I must have scared him off with my final move…"

But there was something else that fell victim to the monster's rampage, and upon remembering them the teenage Overlord widened his eyes in panic and parted his arms from his chest as he turned around and saw as Shiek was kneeling down in front of a slowly awakening Link. The Hero of Time places his hands against the ground and props himself upright as Shiek looks at him and says in a relieved tone of voice "Look like you've both come around…" The Shiekah turns his eye to the right to note the presence of the teenage Overlord as he walks over to the two of them and kneels down in front of Link, offering his right hand out to help him get back onto his feet and smiling at the fact that he appeared to be just fine despite what the monstrosity did to him. "Ugh…What happened?" The Hero of Time mutters out in a tired tone as he rubs the back of his head with his left hand and uses the other one to accept Riku's offer and get pulled onto his feet.

Shiek, standing upright and turning to face the well as the two heroes look his way with a curious look in their eyes, says to them "Link…Riku…A terrible thing has happened here today. The evil shadow spirit has been released!" Now having a moment to think about the situation, the Hero of Time recalls what his dark copy had said to him before his demise about how he was the herald of Kakariko Village's destruction, and that apparently seven years ago he set in motion the release of his master. "What is a shadow spirit doing in Kakariko Village, Shiek?" Link asks in order to hopefully get some answers on what they were just attacked by. The Shiekah turns around and says with a calm voice "Impa, the current leader of Kakariko Village, had sealed the evil shadow away in the bottom of the well long before the birth of Princess Zelda…But the force of the evil spirit got so strong that the seal of the well broken, and it escaped into the world…"

Riku looks on with a guilty glare in his eyes once Shiek explains the shadow spirit's presence in this village, thinking to himself "Great…I bet Ganondorf used the darkness he stole from me to feed the shadow and make him strong enough to break free from the well…" "But I should note that you are not to blame for this, Elemental Overlord." Shiek, sensing the teenager's guilt, quickly diverts his attention towards him and says to him "The King of Evil merely put the shadow under his control…It was long ago that the prelude to the shadow's return began." Once that issue had been dealt with and Riku let out a sigh of relief, the Shiekah said to both heroes "As of now, Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple to try and seal the beast away once more but…without assistance, she will surely perish!"

Turning to face the Hero of Time, Shiek then says to him in a surprisingly urging tone "It would be wrong of me to hide this…But Impa is the Sage of Shadows, which means that rescuing her by stopping the beast is of the utmost importance. There is an entrance to the Shadow Temple below the graveyard behind this village. The only thing I can do for you is teach you the melody that will lead you to the Shadow Temple…This is the melody that draws even the strongest of souls into the infinite darkness that absorbs time itself into its wake…Listen to this, the Nocturne of Shadows!" Shiek pulls out his harp while the Hero of Time takes out the Ocarina of Time, and this time around the Shiekah plays a slow, chime-like melody for Link to repeat.

The two figures play this beautiful song in unison, the rain drops slowly fading away to reveal the wondrous light of the morning sun behind the dark clouds, and when the song reaches its end the Hero of Time feels relaxed and warm and once again holds his Ocarina in front of his face. Shiek puts his harp away and says to Link in a reassuring tone of voice "I thank you for defending me from the shadow…Link, but now I must ask you to leave me be as I defend the village in Impa's absence. I believe in you, Hero of Time…" Taking a couple steps back as Link looks on, Shiek throws a Deku Nut onto the ground, and once again makes his presence scarce.

With a new song learned and a mission now given, Link turns around to face the puzzled Riku with a look on his face that tells the teenage Overlord that something is bothering him at the moment. "Link, what's wrong?" Riku asks. The Hero of Time, with Ocarina still grasped in the cradle that is his palms, says to his ally "Riku…There's something I must do before we head to the Shadow Temple." Curious as to why the Hero of Time was referring only to himself when he said that, Riku tilts his head and asks "What do you mean 'I'?" "…You see, when I defeated my dark copy, he told me that I had set in motion events seven years that led to the release of his master, who I assume is the shadow that just attacked us. The thing is, I don't recall at any point doing anything that may have led to the shadow's release…"

Widening his eyes in surprise towards the implications of Link's sentence, Riku says "So what you are saying is…" Nodding his head before his ally's sentence had come to an end, the Hero of Time goes on to say "I need to go back to being a kid and try to get into the well…I'm pretty certain that Impa wouldn't have sealed the shadow away in the well without putting something inside that could stop the creature…But by doing this, I will allow the shadow to roam free now." Weighing his options here in his head, Link lets out a reluctant sounding sigh before Riku gestures with his right hand and says "Either the creature is released now or someone else will free it later. It'll be better if you free it so we can slay it in the present day…Besides, from the sounds of things its an inevitability that you will free the creature, though I have to ask how you plan on returning to the past…"

The Hero of Time smiles and swiftly says to Riku "When I first returned to Hyrule as an adult, Shiek told me that it was actually possible to return to the past anytime I wished…All I have to do is plant the Master Sword back into the Temple of Time, and my I'll be sent back to the exact moment I pulled it out seven years ago…No earlier, no later." "…Hence why you said 'I', because I'm not connected to the Master Sword, so I have to stay here until you are done in the past." Riku says upon realizing the meaning behind Link's particular choice of pronoun. "Well remember, we will be heading into Ganondorf's territory, so who knows if he'll send some of his monsters into the Temple of Time to try and get the Master Sword while I'm gone…Its really beneficial for us both that one of us has to stay in the present just to stop this from happening."

"I suppose you are right…" Riku says, even though he knows that its impossible for any of Ganondorf's men to touch the Master Sword. Still, the sentiment from Link felt rather nice to hear, and with a smile the teenage Overlord then says "We should get moving. Shiek's being brave and all to try and defend this village, but we both know that he won't survive if the invisible monster tries to attack again." Nodding his head in agreement, Link takes the lead as the two heroes make their way out of the village and head down the staircase, where they find a damp Epona lying down on the ground fast asleep. She is shivering from the cold brought on by the rain that fell upon her, but it doesn't take long for Riku to run over to her and hold his hands over her body in order to cast a warm glow that is sure to dry her off and awaken her from her sleep.

The horse lets out a quiet neigh as her eyelids creek open and she looks up to see her master kneeling down before her face with a gentle smile on his face before he takes his right hand and rubs her chin with his fingers, saying to Epona in the process "Thanks for staying around for me Epona…" His tone is appreciative, which the horse responds to with a merry neigh right as Riku finishes drying her off and proceeds to use his heat to do the same with his clothes. He doesn't have to do anything for Link though since the Hero of Time's Zora Tunic deflected most of the raindrops that fell upon him. After nestling Epona's mane with his hands, the Hero of Time helps her up and gets on top of her ready to ride off towards Hyrule Castle Town, where beyond the ruins lies the Temple of Time.

"Alright Epona, this will be a short trip, so take it slow…" Grabbing onto Epona's reins and giving them a light whip, Link stays on top of his steed to the best of his ability as she slowly trots along Hyrule Fields to head towards the nearby moat in front of the ruined castle town. Riku follows close behind, reminded of what Link saw him do against the invisible beast as he hangs his head down in guilt and wonders just why the Hero of Time hasn't said anything about his flight. Its not like the shadow monster was the biggest issue they had to deal with during this simple trip across the fields, so Link really should be asking him about the secret he kept hidden from him. Not wanting there to be any hints of mistrust between the two of them, Riku decides to ask the Hero of Time "So umm…Why aren't you saying anything about what I did against the beast?"

Glancing to the right down at his ally with a rather unconcerned look in his eyes, the Hero of Time replies with "Oh? You mean the fact that you can fly?" Surprised by Link's nonchalant tone of voice, Riku turns to face him with eyes widened in curious surprise as the Hylian goes on to say "I will admit it was surprising at first, but I know you have a good reason for not using it beforehand…You don't want to deal with the temples too easily, and your flight would have made far too many puzzles a breeze to go through. I mean yeah, I guess it would have been nice if you told me about that power beforehand, but its no big deal Riku." As Link tells the teenage Overlord that he is perfectly fine with what he did, he gets off of Epona because they have arrived in front of the wrecked drawbridge to the former Hyrule Castle Town.

"We won't be long Epona…" Changing the subject towards a farewell to Epona, Link goes to the front of her and gently brushes her mane, hearing her soft neigh of appreciation as his arms go away and the horse nudges her head against her owner's body out of reciprocation. Suggesting to Epona that she trot around Hyrule Fields for a bit until they return, Link then turns towards Riku so the two heroes can cross the moat and head into the Castle Town ruins. The place still has a bunch of ReDead standing around, but with careful traversing the two heroes make it past them without awakening them and move towards the broken grey cathedral that has been named the Temple of Time. After crossing the charred grounds and heading up the broken steps, the two heroes enter a rather contrasting environment with peerless white walls, checkered floors, and a shiny onyx altar that houses the Kokiri Emerald, Goron Ruby, and Zora Sapphire that the young Link brought here seven years ago.

Beyond that altar lies the Room of Time, where Link first pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal and became trapped in the Chamber of Sages until he was old enough to be worthy of the sword's might. Entering that room once more and facing the bright heavenly light coming through a hole in the stained glass window, Link goes up to the very top of the pedestal and unsheathes his blade, holding it tightly in both hands as he holds it above the place he needs to plant it before he turns to face Riku and says to him confidently "I'll be back soon…"Turning back to the pedestal, Link plunges the Master Sword into its rightful holding stone and feels as his body becomes light and a circular, hollow pillar of blue fire rises up around him, created by the Sage of Light Rauru to assist Link in carrying him back to the past.

A blinding light passes through the room as the spell nears its end, and Riku raises his arm before his eyes to avoid looking deeply into the light itself. Link was gone, the Master Sword now stuck in its pedestal. The teenage Overlord was left to his own devices for the time being, but he wouldn't have even a second to get bored as he turned around and was immediately greeted by an elderly man with white hair that looked very similar to the feathers around Kaepora Gaebora's face. He wore a thick regal orange robe that wrapped around his entire body, and his hands were tucked into the sleeve of said robe. He was Rauru, who didn't have to take on the form of the wise owl due to being within a close proximity to the Sacred Realm's entrance. He looked straight at the Elemental Overlord, and with a firm voice he says "Elemental Overlord…We need to talk about your confrontation with Ganondorf."

_Next Time: Link's Trip in the Past_


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes:**

I know this is kinda out of the blue and all, but is there any chance I can get some reviews for this fic? You can be negative if you want so long as its constructive criticism on the fic itself. I'm just kind of curious to know if I'm turning people off from this fic because of certain things, that's all.

* * *

**Chapter 16: A Link to the Past**

A swirling mesa of light and flames cover the Hero of Time's body, carrying his weightless body through the spiral confines of time itself to the fated destination point of seven years in the past. His eyelids are closed, yet his body feels warm and welcomed by the energy surrounding him. He doesn't know anything about the reversion taking place at the moment, as the mysterious hands of the goddesses take away from him the items that only his adult self could wield, keeping them safe within this void until its time for him to return to the present. With a wave of the fingers they switch his clothes around to better fit his return to a youthful time in his life, giving him his familiar green tunic and little Kokiri boots along with the small sword he obtained in his home village when his quest began. When the preparations are at an end, the goddesses wave their arms in front of their bodies and breath onto the Hero of Time, giving him one final push through time towards the bright gate into the past.

Link opens his eyelids swiftly and is welcomed by the same light that fell from the glass windows above in the present. His hands are wrapped around the handle of the Master Sword, though now he was about as tall as the holy sword, and found himself standing on the stone pedestal that the blade was placed in with body pulled back slightly like it was when he first took the sword out. Leaping back off the pedestal and looking down at his now smaller, unprotected hands, the young Link said to himself "Wow, I'm a kid again…" The kid Hero of Time flinches in momentary surprise, his youthful voice taking him completely by surprise due to how long he felt it had been since he last heard it. "I can't really believe that I'm back in the past…" Link then says, looking around at the brightly lit Room of Time and noting to himself "I forgot that this place used to look so pristine…"

A smile crosses the young Hylian's face, as happy memories untainted by imagery of the apocalyptic Hyrule of the future flow through his mind, and with a whiff of fresh air through the nostrils Link opens his eyelids and says to himself "…I can't enjoy the past for too long." Indeed, for as the young Hero of Time recalls, Ganondorf will eventually return to the Temple of Time after giving up his pursuit of the past Princess Zelda and Impa, and with the doorway open the Sacred Realm he will claim the Triforce of Power and begin a destructive rampage on the people of Hyrule. Time was of the essence, and Link needed to take care of business before he would be prevented from returning to the Temple of Time. Turning himself around to face the exit of this holy sanctuary, Link watches as Navi emerges from behind him and with a happy flutter she asks "So how does it feel to be young again?"

Smiling at his fairy companion, Link says to her "It does feel weird to be a kid after spending just a couple of days as an adult…But at the same time, it feels like it will be easy to re-adjust to my small stature just because I wasn't an adult for long." Navi flies up and down in joy, but after thinking for a moment she asks "Oh but wait…What about some of the items you've acquired like the bow and arrows?" Realizing that Navi brought up a point that he hadn't thought of yet, the young Hero of Time quickly searches his tunic for anything that he has picked up during his short time as an adult, but instead is surprised to find his slingshot, a boomerang, and a few Deku Nuts in his pockets. A quick rub on his backside reveals to him that he is now also carrying around the old wooden Deku Shield he got along with the Kokiri Sword not too long ago. "Well, I guess it makes sense…" Link says with very little concern for the loss of items.

Navi says in a deflated tone "Well…You can't really have the items from the future now because you hadn't yet obtained them…Or something like that." She didn't really like trying to think about how time travel worked in relation to the adult Link's items, so he dropped the subject entirely and said to her friend "We should get moving to Kakariko Village." Nodding his head in agreement, the young Hero of Time makes his way through the Temple of Time until he has exited through the front door and made his way into Hyrule Castle Town. In great contrast to the ruins he encountered upon awakening in the future, the young Link is greeted by the merry hustle and bustle of the townsfolk along with a prospering marketplace that was crowded by dozens upon dozens of people attempting to acquire the best items that are currently on sale.

Link walked into the thick of the crowd, his small body getting quickly overwhelmed by the frantic mass of the more mature folk as he tries to make his way towards the front gates leading into Hyrule Field. Navi nestles herself into Link's cap so she doesn't lose track of her companion, but still finds herself being bumped around inside the hat simply because of how busy the marketplace is at the moment. Link, a little irritated by the fact that he has to maneuver through all these Hylians once more, says to his fairy companion as the sound of his voice is left unheard by the roaring crowd "I forgot how busy this place was last time…" With her teeny body flying up against the top of Link's cap, Navi replies with slight pauses due to her body being flung around "Its really weird when you consider…Ugh…That their Princess has just recently fled on horseback with Ganondorf in hot…Ugh…pursuit."

After finally making his way out of the crowd, Link stops in place for a moment not only to catch his breath but to also wait for a dancing couple to spin their way to the right and stop blocking his path out of town. As the young Hero of Time passes the merry couple on by, he faces them and slowly turns his body around once he has made his way between two of the buildings. Though he disliked wading through the crowd, he couldn't help but feel sad for their obliviousness towards what was soon going to happen, and with a lamenting sigh he said to Navi as she emerged from his cap "I wish I was an adult just for this one moment…" Curious as to what brought this up, the fairy floated beside Link and asks "How come?" To which the young Hero of Time replies with "Because then they would probably listen to me if I warned them of Ganondorf's inevitable rampage…"

With eyelids heavy with sadness, Link turned around and began to run out of Hyrule Castle Town as quickly as possible to avoid having to think anymore about what would come of its citizens. He moves past the lowered drawbridge, making his way onto the sunny plains of Hyrule Field and saying to Navi as he tries to regain his cheery, youthful demeanor "At least this looks the same as it did in the future…Minus the Poes, anyways." Chuckling slightly to himself, Link instinctively pulls out his Ocarina of Time and places it in front of his mouth, and with the same dexterity that he displayed as an adult with his fingers he begins to play Epona's Song. Recognizing said tune almost instantly, Navi asks Link in a bewildered tone "Link, what are you doing? We're in the past, you haven't technically become Epona's owner yet."

Midway through the melody, Link drops it with a deflated push of air through his mouth upon hearing Navi's reminder. With a remembering tone of voice, the Hero of Time mutters out a "Oh yeah…" Before slowly moving the Ocarina of Time down away from his face and staring blankly out in front of him as starts to realize that despite how short of a time he was an adult for, he seems more accustomed to being that age than he is a kid. "…" Quietly putting away his instrument, Link says to Navi in a fake tone of nervousness "Sorry, that slipped my mind." He rubs the back of his head to better convince his companion of the emotion he is trying to portray, and afterwards he turns towards the staircase that leads up into Kakariko Village and says "Thankfully, its not that far to the village…"

Thus, the Hero of Time and his faithful fairy companion begin their journey across Hyrule Field, moving across the gentle grassy plain until they head over the rocky bridge and walk to the staircase that they need to climb in order to reach their destination. Once they get to the top, Link doesn't find himself as affected by the differences between the Kakariko Village of the past and that of the future as he was with Hyrule Castle Town, mainly because there really wasn't that much different about them save for the lack of an archery building on the eastern side and less people wandering around. It was still the same old, peaceful village that the Hero of Time knew he'd always feel welcome in no matter what age he was.

But now wasn't the time to reminisce about prior visits. No, Link needed to make his way to the well that the invisible monstrosity would one day emerge from, and find something inside that may help him and his as of now future companion Riku defeat the creature in the Shadow Temple. Walking over to the well in a matter of seconds, Link looks down into it expecting it to be empty like it was in the future, only to be surprised and confused when he finds it almost full to the brim with water. "Huh?" He says, his exasperated tone matching his widened eyes as he pulls his head back and asks Navi "…Shouldn't the well be empty?" The fairy, just as confused as her friend, does have a point to bring to the table when she replies with "Well to be fair Link, we never actually had a reason to look at the well before. For all we know, this was empty the last time we were here and just never got to see it like that…"

Nodding in agreement with Navi's point, the young Hero of Time turns back to the well and says "Well what matters is that it is empty in the future…Meaning that if we want to get down there, we have to figure out a way to empty it." Looking off to the left and noticing a random, portly villager with an open blue vest and pink shorts trotting around merrily, Link says to him vocally in order to grab his attention "Excuse me sir!" The man stops, turns to face the young green tunic wearing boy, and says with his arms laid against his curved hips "Yes? What is it young one?" His tone is curious and not the least bit condescending towards the age gap between the two of them. Looking at the man as if he was still a mature adult, Link asks him "I was wondering, what controls the water level in this well?"

Finding the question to be slightly suspicious, the man nonetheless is more than happy to oblige to the fairy boy's desire for knowledge and says to him "Ah yes…If I recall correctly, the old windmill is responsible for maintaining a steady level of water inside of the well." As he speaks he turns his body to the left, and Link does the same so the both of them can face the giant windmill hanging high above Kakariko Village. "The way I remember it is that the faster the windmill blades rotate, the lower the water level in the well will be. Of course, being in the mountains and all, we don't get that much wind, so the water generally stays where its at. If you want to know more, you can ask the old man playing his instruments inside the building." Once the explanation was at an end, Link faces the man and properly thanks him for his help, and in turn the man says that he glad to be of assistance before he trots off on his way.

After said man has gone far enough out of the young Hero of Time's voice range, Link slaps his forehead lightly and says to himself "Of course, I forgot all about the old man in the windmill!" Navi, fluttering about beside Link, says to him "Oh yeah…When we first went to Kakariko Village and went to the windmill, the old man said something about how a 'young kid' played a song before him seven years ago and caused him lots of agony due to how fast the windmill had become." "And then he played that exact same song…Which caused us to learn it…" "So we could come back to the past and play it before him…" As both Link and Navi stare at each other in great confusion over how all that could work out, they also begin to think about just how said song got its beginning when… "Gah!" Link mutters out in pain, his young mind unable to comprehend how this all works.

"Forget about it Navi, lets just go play the song in front of the old man and see what happens…" Dropping the subject of this paradox forever, Link moves around the well and heads up the nearby staircase to enter the windmill. Inside is a large, slowly spinning pillar of wood that twists some gears around to keep the blades of the windmill itself spinning outside. The inner grey brick walls of the structure are pressed perfectly together, ensuring that only the strongest of natural forces would cause the place to collapse. But the most important thing about this place was the lone man lurching forward on the eastern side of the windmill, his right hand constantly turning the knob on a wooden music box that projects noise via the large megaphone hanging above his head. He plays one song continuously at a normal pace, a big contrast to what Link remembers from the future.

Stepping onto the spinning circular base and walking over to where the old man is, the young Hero of Time is greeted by him with a merry smile and a fond "Hello". Trying to segue into a normal conversation with the man despite how guilty he feels for what he is about to do, Link pulls out his Ocarina and watches as the man's eyebrows perk up in surprise. "Oh? What a fascinating little instrument you have there boy." He says, and Link looks up and asks "Is it alright if I play along with you?" Seeing nothing wrong with the idea, the man nods his head and welcomes Link to place his Ocarina around his lips and begin playing with him. With eyelids closed and mind focused, the young Hero of Time plays the exact same melody that the music box is projecting. As he does so, a ray of sunlight comes down on top of him along with a foggy cloud. The man doesn't notice this though, for his eyelids stay entirely shut as the music plays in sync.

However, he does flinch momentarily in surprise as a series of raindrops begin to pitter down on top of his balding head. A gust of wind kicks up inside of the windmill, spinning the gears and pillar around at a much faster pace while the man starts to playing his song even faster than he did before to keep up with the rising momentum of the windmill. His eyelids rise in panic as an uneasy frown curls along his face and light raindrops continue to fall down upon him. But despite how fast the windmill is now going, he continues to play his music box as if his life depended on it. Link puts his Ocarina away, looks up at the scowling man's face, and quickly decides to make his way out of the windmill as the man growls his hardest to hold in his anger before he lets out a series of obscene curses the very moment that Link makes his way out of the windmill.

With door shut tightly behind him, the young Hero of Time takes a couple deep breaths and says to Navi "You don't know how bad I feel right now for doing this…He was such a nice old man…" Trying her best to comfort her friend, Navi says to him while flying beside his face "It is a pity…But we had no other choice." Reluctantly agreeing with his fairy friend's point, Link moves down the staircase and decides to check the well again. The water was now completely drained from it, leaving behind a bricked in chasm that led into a dark passageway. Seeing a ladder nearby that he could safely climb down, Link made his way to the bottom of the well and upon landing on the ground took one look up at the sun before saying to Navi "Alright…Lets see what we can find."

Moving on through the dark passage, the young Hero of Time finds his vision slowly being deprived of light until he sees a small, almost fully bricked in pocket, at which point he stops and notices a crawlspace at the bottom of the wall in front of him that is just big enough for him to go through. Getting down on his hands and knees, Link makes his way through the tight space for a few seconds until he emerges on the other side. All that lies in this room is a wooden ladder that goes down further into this mysterious area. Thus, Link climbs down to the bottom, and steps on top of a mushy, unnatural dirt surface that has a chain link floor hidden underneath it. There are chains hanging from the ceiling, a gigantic skull-backed spider known as a Skulltua suspended from some webbing he shot onto the ceiling.

But for Link, whether it be as an adult or as a kid, Skulltua's were very easy to deal with. All he had to do was take out his boomerang and hold it steadily beside his head while waiting for the creature to spin around and reveal its vulnerable backside to him, at which point he tosses his item out and causes the spider to become stunned in place from the pain caused by the boomerang striking him. Then, after taking his Kokiri Sword out into the grasp of his left hand the young Hero of Time cuts the Skulltua at the neck, cutting the head off from the rest of the body which in turn breaks the webbing keeping the spider connected to the ceiling. The creature falls to the ground and is consumed by blue flames, leaving Link with an open path to…A thick brick wall that has a strangely flattened skeleton resting against it.

"Huh?" Link is puzzled by this dead end, because by all means a temple containing an invisible shadow monster shouldn't consist of just two rooms and a Skulltua…There had to be something more to this place than that. The flattened skeleton was the main reason for Link to have suspicions about the length of this place besides the things he had already noted. Walking slowly towards the wall, the young Hero of Time extends his right hand out to touch it, only for him to feel air despite the front of his fingertips laying on this 'wall'. Looking surprised by this, Link pulls his hand back and says to Navi "There's definitely something behind here." "Be careful Link…" The fairy says out of concern for her companion's safety. Link nods his head out of thanks for her concern, and slowly advances towards the 'wall'.

As he makes his way through, a hollow voice whispers to him _"Look for the eye of truth…"_ It was clear to Link that the skeleton was giving him advice from beyond the realm of living, which the young Hero of Time couldn't determine if that gesture was either kind or creepy. Once past the wall, Link finds himself in the main part of the temple, with a small pool of clear water and the tunneled creek that deposits it being the first thing that grabs his attention as he looks forward. He then looks further on, noticing even more chains dangling from the ceiling along with oddly places wooden boards on the floor and mounds of decaying flesh and feces lying around the back of Link's line of sight.

Trying not to throw up at the disgusting sight of all that rot, Link says to Navi "I wonder what else Impa used this area for…" "I don't know, but I'm getting a really uneasy vibe from this place…Like something is going to grab me away without warning." Navi responded in panicking fear, the young Hero of Time turning to face her and saying with a comforting voice "Navi, I'm not going to let that happen, trust me." Though the fairy believed the words of her friend, she still decided to nestle up behind Link's cap as he turned around just to be on the safe side. Link moved forward through the temple, taking the left path and moving towards the corner before a gigantic green flamed skull with bat wings attached to the scalp flies around and surprises the Hero of Time completely.

Link leaps to the side, readying his sword only to watch as the skull flies right on past him without acknowledging his existence in the slightest. It was a strange event, but it alerted Link to the fact that he couldn't simply rely on his ears to alert him of approaching dangers. Anything could come straight out of the blue to either attack him or frighten him, and he might not be able to stop them. His cap trembles due to Navi's frightened shivering, and the young Hero of Time realizes that he can't assure her safety if something truly malicious decides to appear from out of nowhere. "I have to be careful…That's the most I can do." After thinking that to himself, Link glances forward and puts his back against the wall on the left side of the canal, dipping his boots into the water as he scoots across down the hall to slowly make his way for the northwestern corner of this temple.

His mind was glazed with caution as he fought every last bit of paranoia that tried to clench down upon him, keeping a brave expression on his face and his sword gripped tightly in his left hand as he holds it against the wall and constantly looks behind him and up at the ceiling to see if anything might be approaching him. The hairs on the back of his neck are slowly creeping up, only to fall back down every few seconds as if the source of his unease is merely messing with him. But he keeps going on anyways, finally arriving at the corner as a giant Skulltua falls from the ceiling in an attempt to scare him…Only to be met with the same fate as the one at the entrance of the temple. "Maybe…Maybe there is nothing to worry about…" Link thinks to himself as he pulls himself away from the wall and walks through the canal towards the backside of the temple.

It doesn't take very long for the young Hero of Time to notice something odd in the canal. Underneath the water's surface is a giant symbol of the Triforce with a blue triangle in the center of it that pointed towards a demonic, reptilian face that constantly poured water out into the canal through its "mouth". Finding this to be rather curious, Link pulls out his Ocarina and stands on the center of the symbol while facing the reptilian face attached to the wall and closing his eyelids ready to play 'Zelda's Lullaby'. As his mind is eased for the moment, Link realizes just how similar this puzzle is to the water level one from the last temple, and is hoping that this will be the only time he has to deal with this throughout the whole temple. Once the song has been played, the water stops being placed into the canal, and without the steady stream it begins to empty bit by bit.

Link puts the Ocarina of Time away, and with Navi slowly emerging behind him with her attempting to put on a brave demeanor for her friend she asks "We should check back at the entrance. I remember there being a pool of water there, and its likely empty now…" "Yeah, lets do that Navi." Link says in agreement of her idea. Treading back the way they came since going to the right may lead them towards a hoard of vicious monsters, the two arrive back at the entrance to find that Navi's assumption holds true, as the once filled pool is now empty, revealing a crawlspace on the left side that Link leaps down to and crawls through to reach the room hidden on the other side. Greeted by another Skulltua that suffers the same death that the two before it did, the young Hero of Time then climbs the rotting vine wall to arrive at a steel door that opens as he approaches it, but seals up tight with iron bars behind him after he walks a few feet away from it.

Link now finds himself in a spacious room with ash colored, moldy dirt walls…And four rotting, white flesh hands that wiggle around like snakes and smell like the crawling undead. There didn't actually appear to be anything of note in this room save for the hands, though because of how grotesque and offsetting their appearances are Link decides to try and cut the hands down with his sword. However, as he gets near them, one immediately falls down and latches its wretched fingers around the young Hero of Time's head, freezing him in place as the ground trembles and a cyclone of filth heralds the rise of an undead monstrosity that is made of the same decaying flesh as the hand that binds Link down. The creature has a long neck attached to its lumber body with a zombie-like head at the very end of it that leans forward and stares at his acquired prey with blank, black eyes. The flesh of the creature is covered in bloodstains, which slowly ooze green blood on his body as it inches over to Link.

As he paralysis ends though, the young Hero of Time quickly takes his sword and cuts the hand off below the joint, freeing himself just as the lumbering zombie leans forward and brings its teeth down in an attempt to bite Link's arms off. Though the hands appear connected to the underside of this fleshy monster, it doesn't show any signs of pain as the slashed limb retracts bleeding into the ground. Navi, flying around in a panic like she has been for most of this temple, says to Link "Eek! T-That's a Dead Hand! Link, attack its head and kill it quickly, please!" The young Hero of Time, understanding Navi's great unease seeing how even he finds himself disturbed by the Dead Hand's appearance, quickly takes his sword and performs a few quick horizontal slashes along with two vertical ones to cut across the zombie's face, the monstrosity flinching with each blow but showing no real signs of damage save for the blood spraying out from wherever it is cut.

Before Link can strike it anymore, the Dead Hand smirks briefly and turns around, retreating into the ground as another burst of dirt flies around him that the young Hero of Time has to leap back to avoid getting any of it on him. Noticing how the monster left rather quickly after his hand had been dealt with, Link says to Navi "It won't emerge unless I'm caught…" and immediately turns towards the closest hand, walking over to it and letting it fall down and grab him to cause the Dead Hand to emerge from the ground next to him. Smiling confidently, the young Hero of Time performs a spin attack with his sword that cuts down the hand binding him while also putting a rather big gash in the gut of the Dead Hand.

With its intertwined flesh becoming undone and blood and guts spewing onto the ground from the wound, the Dead Hand screeches in a low tone as Link backflips to get himself in position for the final blow. One brave leap into the air puts the young Hero of Time above the Dead Hand's head, where he then grasps his sword with both hands and plunges the blade deep into the mushy skull of the zombie, the combination of his weight and the speed of his descent causes the limber neck of the Dead Hand to snap in half, the part of it connected to the rest of the body rising into the air and spewing out a huge reservoir of blood that leaks out onto his body. The creature itself begins to fall onto the ground in front of where its head used to be, and upon noticing this Navi alerts Link and allows the young Hero of Time to pulls his sword out of the pinned head of the Dead Hang and leaps back to avoid being crushed under the weight of the creature.

The fallen body squirms a few times as a glowing yellow light reveals a large chest in the center of the room, but once that has fully materialized the creature slowly disappears from existence, blood and all. Letting out a sigh of relief now that Dead Hand was done for, Navi says with gratitude towards Link "Thank you…I really hope whatever is in that chest will help us defeat that invisible monster in the future, because I don't want to be in this place any longer." Nodding his head in agreement, the young Hero of Time says to his fairy companion "I don't want to be here either, but if we have to stick around then that's just what we will do…" For now though, Link went over to the chest and opened it up to check what was inside. After he pulls his body out of the chest he stands up proudly and holds a purple object with a double-sided lens of red and blue in the center that has a crystalline eye similar to the one seen on the symbol of the Shiekah.

_Link has obtained the __**Lens of Truth!**__ With it you can see things beyond the sight of most mortals. Beyond the mysterious beyond…What sort of truths lies there? _

Lowering the lens down in front of his face, Link attempts to look through it, only to see nothing but the color of the glass itself being projected across the room. "Huh…Nothing looks different." Link says as he pulls the lens away, and as Navi flies over to the side of the strange artifact she examines it and says to her friend "Its definitely of Shiekah origin…Maybe Shiek would know how to use this?" The young Hero of Time shakes his head, saying to his fairy friend "Shiek didn't even tell us that this item existed. He doesn't know about it, so we won't learn anything from him." Taking a quick look at the lens again, Link comes up with an idea and says directly "Lens, I want to see what cannot be seen by mortals." In an instant the lens is surrounded by an unholy glow, and the purple edge vanishes as the lens shrinks down to the size of Link's right eyes and quickly slams itself into place around the young Hero of Time's eye without harming him in the slightest.

The lens conforms Link's vision with the world beyond the mortal plane, giving the edge of his sight a purple haze. Surprised by the sudden change in sight, the young Hero of Time decides to take another look around the room, and finds a small chest behind the larger chest that he didn't see before. Because of this, Link realizes that the Lens of Truth allows him to see invisible objects. "Navi…I think we found exactly what we need to stop the monster in the future." With another thought the Hero of Time watches as the Lens of Truth returns to its natural state and falls into his hands, and he puts it away into his tunic for the time being. Not wanting to traverse the temple anymore, Link decides to pull out his Ocarina of Time and says to Navi "If I use the Song of Time that Shiek taught me, I can warp us right back to the Temple of Time." "Please do Link…Then we can be done with this place forever."

With his fairy friend urging him on, the young Hero of Time puts the instrument close to his mouth and begins to play a slow, low key tune. The area goes completely silent afterwards as an orb of bright white light swirls around his body and snatches him up, taking him back to the Temple of Time in a near instant. He arrives before the pedestal housing the Spiritual Stones, and once the light leaves he put the Ocarina away and turns around so he can walk back to the Room of Time. Standing before the Master Sword, Link says to Navi "Alright, lets head back and hopefully stop the monster at the Shadow Temple before its too late for Kakariko Village…" With hands grasped around the handle of the legendary sword, the young Hero of Time pulls it from its pedestal and feels as his body becomes weightless once more, and he is carried upward through the eternal spiral of time…Aging back into an adult as that which he was deprived of is returned to him by the bountiful hands of the goddesses…

_Next Time: The Once Unknown Spy_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Nocturne of Shadow I: Shadowfall **

"What do you want now Rauru?" Just a second after Link left what was considered the present for the teenage Overlord, Riku was greeted by the serious Sage of Light, Rauru, who mentioned that there was something that needed to be discussed regarding his prior confrontation with Ganondorf. The wise old sage, taking a step closer to the teenage Overlord, looks at him with a firm glare and says "Do you recall how in the final moments of your battle with the King of Evil he used dark magic to tear your darkness from within your soul?" Riku, raising his right eyebrow out of curiosity and suspicion towards the Sage of Light, replies with a prolonged "Yes". Rauru then says to him "Ganondorf did more then just rob you of one of your elements…With only a bit of his power, he inserted within you a spell that allows him to hear everything you say."

It takes a bit of time for Riku to realizes the implications brought on by the Sage's comment, but when he does he lets out a regretful "Oh…" and says to Rauru "I'm sorry…I didn't have any idea about what Ganondorf did. But if it makes you feel any better-" "I already know you haven't revealed any information to the King of Evil that he could use to gain an advantage on us…And I wouldn't worry about him learning anything here. His magic is weak because of our close proximity to the Sacred Realm." Rauru gives Riku some much needed reassurance, and with a slight grin the Sage of Light then says "I must thank you though for staying silent in regards to Shiek's true identity. Until the other Sages are awakened, it is for the best if nothing is revealed, not even to Link."

Riku, raising his eyebrows as he looks down at Rauru with an expression of slight disbelief as he says to him "I'm trying my hardest not to say anything to him, but if I had a way to tell Link the truth without alerting Ganondorf I believe it would be more than fair to tell him." Rauru, surprised by what the teenage Overlord is insinuating, opens his eyelids and says with a firm glare "I beg your pardon, Elemental Overlord?" Shrugging his shoulders and closing his eyelids as he keeps his arms beside his head, the teenage Overlord replies to Rauru nonchalantly with "I'm just saying that after watching his father figure die with him unable to do anything, losing Princess Zelda because of Ganondorf's machinations, accidentally allowing the King of Evil to exist at all, and seeing three of his closest friends sacrifice their lives to become Sages…I think its only fair that Link be allowed one bit of happiness in his life that won't end up being robbed by the hands of fate."

"What are you implying, child?" Rauru sensed that there was more to Riku's words then the recollection of events he spoke of, and with a curious, arching glare the Sage of Light watches as the teenage Overlord lowers his arms and swings his right hand around in the air before saying to him "All that Link has done, and all that he is going to do…How is all this hard work going to be rewarded when Ganondorf is 'defeated'?" Looking at Riku with an expression of growing displeasure, Rauru asks in an irritated tone of voice "Are you suggesting that Ganondorf will not be stopped?" The teenage Overlord looks at the Sage of Light straight on and says bluntly "Oh no, Ganondorf will be stopped when this is all said and done…But not for very long. Your attempt to seal him away will only end in disaster for Hyrule, and it will all be because of your 'reward' to Link for defeating the King of Evil."

"You lie. Our plan to seal Ganondorf away cannot fail, its impossible." Rauru counters, even though his grimacing expression reveals the doubt in his own words. "It WILL fail, and because Princess Zelda will choose to send Link back to the past to reclaim his childhood, Hyrule will be left without its hero when the King of Evil chooses to take over again. And thus, in order to preserve the Triforce, the goddesses will flood Hyrule, burying it forever under a sea of water." Outraged at the blasphemy that the teenage Overlord could possibly be suggesting, Rauru's eyes widen angrily before he proclaims "The goddesses would never do such a thing!" Ignoring the proclamation, Riku then says to the Sage of Light "And sending Link back to regain his lost childhood is a dumb idea in the first place. He hasn't been an adult for long, but he has already greatly matured to the point that he will never be able to relate to anyone his age when he permanently returns to the past simply because his mind will retain the growth he obtained in this time period…And nobody will take him seriously as either a warrior or a hero because of his young age. He'll live the rest of his life as a wanderer, never knowing anything about the chaos caused by his disappearance from the future…"

Rauru goes completely silent as Riku finishes telling him the truth about the consequences of his later actions. He wanted to speak out against what was said, but found that there was no way to deny how right the teenage Overlord was about what he planned to do when Ganondorf was defeated. Clenching his fists in guilt, the Sage of Light keeps an open ear as Riku says to him "I just have to ask…Do you see Link as a living being, or a tool meant to fix Hyrule for you?" "I…I would never see another person as a tool for my own ends…I simply thought that for all that Link has been forced to do, giving him back his childhood would be the best I could do for him…But I see now that in by doing so, it will only end in disaster for Hyrule and rob Link of true happiness. The two reincarnated Links that came before this one have known the pain of many losses in their lives and never recovered, so in order to allow this Link to not suffer the same fate it would be for the best if he is kept in this time period after Ganondorf is defeated."

When Rauru's sentence has reached a definitive end, the teenage Overlord's eyes widen in shock at the mention of the "two prior Links" and with arms unfurling from his chest he asks in confusion "Huh? What do you mean by reincarnated Links?" The Sage of Light, however, cannot answer the teenage Overlord's question, for with a flinch in his expression he senses the return of the fabled Hero of Time and says to Riku "Unfortunately, I have overstayed my welcome…Link is returning, and I must return to the Sacred Realm to prepare for the final battle with Ganondorf." Vanishing in a flash of light, Rauru leaves Riku with his right arm outstretched and a look of utter confusion on his face as the pillar of blue flames surrounds the pedestal of the Master Sword behind him and the Hero of Time returns to this time period with his body leaning back as the legendary blade is grasped in both hands.

Deciding that it was for the best if he left the prior subject alone for the time being, Riku turns around to face the Hero of Time as he straightens his body and sheathes the Master Sword behind him. With a glance behind his shoulder to check to see if his ally is still around, Link says to him "Hey Riku, did anything happen while I was gone?" The teenage Overlord, naturally not wanting to reveal anything about his discussion with Rauru, lies to the Hero of Time with a smile before he says to him "Nothing really, you were only gone a couple minutes." Surprised at the major discrepancy in time between the two of them, Link widens his eyes as he steps off the pedestal and says to Riku "Well anyways…I found a solution to our monster problem." Reaching into his tunic, the Hero of Time pulls out the purple bordered Lens that he acquired at the bottom of the well in the past and holds it along his palm, showing it to his ally so he can take a good look at it before lifting his head up and purposely being obvious to the object's true nature and asking "What is it?"

"The Lens of Truth. When I put it on its allows me to see invisible objects." Surprised by the mention of him "putting it on" the teenage Overlord lifts his head up and asks "Huh? How does it work?" The Hero of Time, not wanting to hold off on an explanation, asks the lens "Allow me to see things that mortals cannot." With the object rising off of his palm and the border vanishing in an instant, the lens itself attaches itself around Link's right eye and becomes clear to perfectly blend in with it. Riku, legitimately surprised by what the Lens of Truth has done, reels his body back and says with complete honesty in his voice "W-Wow…That's pretty cool." "Yeah, but its kind of draining to wear it…So we should only use it in emergencies." With a thought the Hero of Time removes the Lens of Truth from his eye and puts it away into his tunic, pulling out the Ocarina of Time so he can play the song necessary to head to their next destination.

Before they depart though, Riku asks him "So how was your trip to the past otherwise?" Link, raising one eyelid as the instrument goes close to his mouth, says to the teenage Overlord "Short…and sad." The melancholy tone along with the immediate resuming of his prior action tells Riku enough about how the Hero of Time felt, so he simply nodded his head and joined him at his side as he plays the Nocturne of Shadows, and a purple orb of light sweeps the two of them away. In an instant though, the heroes are deposited onto a hexagon platform that lies on a fenced in plateau. It is raining, and lightning strikes the darkened atmosphere every few seconds to give the environment a natural if rather ominous feel. Walking off the hexagon to peer over the fence, Link notices that they are in the Graveyard of Kakariko Village, as evidenced by the many gravestones plastered into the ground in orderly rows.

"So this temple has been hidden behind Kakariko Village the whole time?" Link notes as pushes his body away from the fence with an uneasy expression on his face as he turns and thinks to himself "I wonder if the Shadow Temple and graveyard are connected to that are at the bottom of the well…" A question that would remain unanswered for the moment as he walked towards the nearby cave with Riku at his side. The teenage Overlord, being slightly more aware of his surroundings at the moment, looks on ahead and sees many unlit steel torches put in a ring around a small raised platform. Beyond that lies a large stone door with the symbol of the Shiekah present on the front of it.

"Seems we have to light all of the torches…" Riku, making an astute observation about the surroundings, raises his right hand into the air and with a wave of the finger he draws forth fire to create an orb that can hit all the torches in a single move, only for him to disperse the flame with a curling of the finger as Link surprisingly holds his right hand out beside his body and says "Let me handle this one Riku." Moving to the top of the pedestal, twists his body slightly to the left and cusps his hands together beside himself as the room grows darker, and then with a spin of his body the Hero of Time slams his left fist into the center of the pedestal with his body bent forward to follow through on his action all the way. Immediately a dome of fire erupts from around Link's body, and it quickly expands to cover all of the unlit torches and light them up. Once the dome has faded away Link lifts his body up and watches as the stone door slides open, revealing the way to the innards of the Shadow Temple.

But before the two heroes made their way inside, a flabbergasted Riku has to ask the Hero of Time "Whoa hold on a moment there…Since when can you manipulate fire?!" Link turns to face his ally, saying to him with a smile "Its called Din's Fire. I learned it from one of the Great Fairies when I was a kid. It costs a lot of magic, but I guess it turned out to be useful for this one puzzle so I don't really mind." "Eh, fair enough Link, just curious…" Riku says with a shrug of his shoulder. The two heroes then enter the Shadow Temple, leaving behind the grey brick lined passageway to enter the dark, damp interior. Not long after piercing the darkness and arriving at a barely lit hallway, the heroes see a hookshot mark placed on the ledge of a wall on the other side of a vast pit.

Immediately taking out his Longshot, the Hero of Time uses it to pull himself over to the other side and grab onto the top of the mark so he can pull himself up onto the other side. Riku takes a moment, however, to check and see which elements he'd be allowed to use this time. Surprisingly, he has only lost the ability to use Water and Wind. "Hmm…That's a little better than usual." With his lone thought the teenage Overlord uses his powers of flight to cross the gap, joining Link on the other side as he stares at a stone plaque with a phantom-like skull grinning on the front of it. A hollow voice says to the heroes _"The shadow will yield only to one with the eye of truth…Handed down in Kakariko Village…" _Naturally, this made Link assume that the plaque in front of them didn't actually exist, and was merely a shadow created to dissuade the unprepared from entering. But just to make sure, the Hero of Time pulled out the Lens of Truth and put it on. With it the plaque vanished and he saw the room beyond, which appeared to have unlit, metal skull torches, more plaques, and a boney stone bird statue standing on top of an apparently rotate able pedestal.

Taking the Lens of temporarily, the Hero of Time moves forward with Riku at this side, and Link himself moves to the pedestal to see what it could there. There was a small tab with a mysterious symbol on both sides, and as the Hylian approached it he was greeted by another voice that was cracked much like that of a demonic bird _"Make my beak face the skull of truth…The alternative is descent into deep darkness." _With the only skulls around being those on the 'torches', it doesn't take much time for Link to realize what he has to do next. With another placing of the Lens of Truth into his right eye, the Hero of Time looks around at the five 'torches' to try and figure out which one is truly what it appears to be. A quick glance reveals to him that the upper left skull actually exists, while the rest of them do not. With this knowledge in mind, Link takes the Lens off and begins to push against the left side of the tablet, using all of his strength to slowly rotate the pedestal around until the beak of the statue points towards the skull.

After that, Riku watches as a long stone 'tongue' extends from the bottom of a demon faced imprint on a wall beyond the large gap in front of him. However, the 'tongue' stops at the halfway point of the gap, leaving enough of a floorless expanse between the two grounds for Link to be unable to cross over to the other side even with his longest jump. Noting this as the Hero of Time moves away from the locked in pedestal and takes off the Lens of Truth, Riku turns to face him and says "We got a bit of a problem Link." The Hylian lifts his head up with a curious raise of his eyebrows, and looks to the left as Riku nudges in that direction. Link takes a look at the gap and says to his ally "Ummm…Will you be able to carry me across the gap? Because there's not a hookshot mark in sight and I definitely won't be able to make that."

Sighing to himself as the thing he worried about when he revealed his flight gets mentioned by the Hero of Time, Riku replies slowly to his ally with "No Link, I'm not strong enough to carry you over and the stones around here are too foreign for me to create a bridge to the other side with." With Riku's words dashing all of Link's ideas for the time being, the Hero of Time folds his arms in front of his chest and begins to think to himself about what they could do to continue. Recalling seeing an open passage somewhere in the room as he turned the statue around, Link decides once again to put on the Lens of Truth to find where said passage is. Though this time around, he looks a bit tired as the lens is applied to his eye, and Riku is quick to pick up on this.

With a concerned expression the teenage Overlord walks over to the Hero of Time as he turns his head and faces the northeastern plaque to see that it isn't actually real, and with a worried voice he says "Link, the Lens is draining you, isn't it? Let me use it, I probably have a lot more magical energy inside of me to sustain the usage of the Lens." Shaking his head though and giving Riku a reassuring grin, Link says to him "No…Its fine. I probably won't have to use this too often…" His voice was weak though, showing a slowly creeping fatigue on his body as he walks forward towards the hidden passage with Riku staring at him and thinking "Link…You have no idea what lies ahead." With a hesitant glance towards where they have to go next, the teenage Overlord whispers to himself "I have to get that Lens at any cost, or Link will be too drain to fight the monster…"

The two heroes advance down the passageway while Riku tries to come up with an inconspicuous way to get the Lens of Truth on his right eye without letting Link know about his knowledge of what was to come in this temple. After moving beyond a false wall and into a cubed room with a torch lit pillar in the center, the two heroes hear a voice calling to them _"Shadow Temple…Here is gathered Hyrule's bloody history of greed and hatred…" _Paying attention to where the sound came from, the Hero of Time moves towards the back of the room with the Lens of Truth still attached and finds another false wall disguised as a tapestry with a blue eyed glowing skull on the front. The two heroes head on through and are spoken to by another voice, which tells them _"What is hidden in the darkness…Tricks full of ill will…You can't see the way forward…"_

But despite the ominous voices speaking to them with each room they pass through, the heroes press on, making their way into another room similar to the one they were just in only to be greeted by a clay pot flying through the air straight at them. Link pulls out his shield and lets the pot slam against it, the material shattering apart and falling against the ground with relative ease. Slightly disturbed by this event, Link says while putting his shield away "…I'm beginning to wonder just how much of this temple is haunted by the undead…" "The whole place is haunt, more than likely. Even the walls seem to have been brought to life by the dead souls that have been speaking to us so far…" Riku says in response to the Hero of Time's thought, and in turn Link replies with a light chuckle that makes it clear that he is a bit unhinged being inside of this place.

The heroes move on through the temple, making their way to the northeastern corner of this particular room as Link finds another passage with a steel door behind it and watches as it opens up on its own after the two of them get close to it. The Hero of Time is a bit hesitant to enter the next room, and its obvious as to why that is. Inside lies the white fleshed limbs of the Dead Hand that he encountered in the past, only this time there are six of them lying around the room in a more compressed fashion. "Ugh…Not this again." Link bemoans as he draws out his Master Sword. "What is it Link?" The teenage Overlord asks, knowing full well what is disturbing the Hero of Time. "I encountered one of these creatures in the past…The only way to draw it out is to let one of its hands grab onto you…" With a great deal of reluctance the Hero of Time walks forward towards the closest hand and watches as it falls down.

However, this time around the hand wraps its moldy fingers around the sides of Link's face, placing the palm directly against his mouth in order to limit his breathing as an eruption of dirt heralds the arrival of the Dead Hand itself. Riku panics slightly as the Hero of Time struggles to bring his Master Sword up and cut the limb down at first, but is even more worried when after finally dealing with the hand that bound him he turned to face the approaching Dead Hand and his blade clanked down onto the ground. Link was weak from the overuse of the Lens of Truth, and this was the worst possible time for him to have his sword at the ground. "Damn it Link…" Riku thought himself as he grit his teeth and leaped high into the air, reeling his right hand back so he can launch a swirling orb of fire that passes above the Hylian's cap and burns a charred hole right through the center of the Dead Hand's body to kill him instantly.

The charred body falls backwards and vanished as a swirling light summons forth a large chest. However, Riku is more concerned with checking up on Link than he is on the appearance of the new item. Once on the ground, he runs forward and goes by the Hero of Time's side, using his hands to keep him held up as he lets go of the Master Sword and appears ready to collapse on the ground. "Link, get the Lens of Truth off right now! You're going to fall unconscious if you keep it on any longer!" Riku, exclaiming as calmly as physically possible, tries to convince the Hero of Time to remove the Lens of Truth, an act that Link appears to be in full support of as the weary eyed Hylian nods his head and with a thought he removes the object from his eye, allowing it to fall to the ground in its true form, which Riku then quickly picks up to prevent Link from putting it on ever again.

Almost instantly, the Hero of Time's energy is brought up to sub-par levels, and he widens his eyelids in a lively fashion. The teenage Overlord moves his hand away and pulls his body up to give Link enough room to get on his feet and pick up his Master Sword to sheath it. Glancing to the right with a regretful look in his eyes, the Hero of Time says to Riku "…I guess I underestimated how strong that Lens is. If you want to use it from now on, go ahead…But if it gets too exhausting, then just switch it off to me." Giving Riku a fair warning that the teenage Overlord knew he wouldn't have to worry about, Link walks forward and gets ready to open the chest while Riku puts on the Lens of Truth while thinking to himself "I'm sorry Link, but it'll be for the best if I do this…"

But as the teenage Overlord applies the Lens of Truth to his right eye and his vision begins to conform to the mortal and otherworldly planes, Riku is met with a much different spectacle than Link did when he first put the Lens on. Frozen stiff in place as the entire room is turned into an empty void, Riku's entire body becomes pale blue as a unyielding swarm of distorted souls surrounds him and repeats ad infinitum in an echoing chorus _"Our king shall return soon…" _When the event is over, the teenage Overlord has the same vision of the room that Link did before, but by this time the Hero of Time has already pulled out a golden pair of winged boots from the treasure chest. Link turns towards his ally as he stands frozen in place with a fear struck look on his face and his right hand held limply beside his head. Puzzled as to why his ally is behaving like that, the Hero of Time walks over to him with boots in hands and asks "Riku? Hello? Are you ok there Riku?" For the moment though, the teenage Overlord appears unresponsive to anything Link is saying to him…

_Next Time: A Bloody Past Drenched in Shadows_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Nocturne of Shadows II: A Hidden Deceiver**

Riku is frozen in place by what he witnessed upon putting on the Lens of Truth. It wasn't so much that he was disturbed by it all, but rather he was wondering just why the souls of the undead spoke of a "king" that was clearly meant to refer to someone who wasn't Ganondorf. He was also curious about whether or not Link saw such imagery when he first put the Lens on, and if not he then had to wonder just what made him able to see the undead for such a brief moment. Was it because of his vast supply of elemental energy amplifying the Lens capabilities, or could it be something else entirely? They were both daunting questions, and unless he asked the Hero of Time just what happened before he would get nowhere. The echoes of Link's voice reached out beyond his fading thoughts, and Riku slowly moved his right hand away from his face before blinking twice and asking "Huh? What's up Link?"

The teenage Overlord appeared oblivious towards the Hero of Time's concerns at first, mostly because Link's expression became normal before Riku had a chance to notice it. However, it would be through words that the Hero of Time would choose to answer Riku's inquiry instead of actions "You were standing in place for quite a while after putting the Lens on. Did something happen?" There wasn't really more to it than that. The teenage Overlord got an answer to both of his questions, though Link would be left unaware of the fact that he dealt with one of them as Riku chooses to say to him "I don't know what happened, honestly." It was a light fib, since the teenage Overlord truly didn't know the full truth behind the appearance of those spirits.

Giving a light shrug of the shoulders, Link decides to just drop the matter for now and says to Riku "Oh yeah, I got these from the chest the Dead Hand left behind." Holding his hands up to show his ally the golden, winged boots he acquired. "Huh…What do those do?" The teenage Overlord asks, having a brief lapse of memory due to his prior concerns overshadowing them. "I don't know actually…" Link gives an honest answer about the boots, but then goes on to offer a theory based on a quick look at its design "Perhaps if I put them on, I'll be able to walk on the air?" With the Hero of Time's observation reminding him of the boot's capabilities, Riku lifts his head up and says enthusiastically "Go for it. The worst thing that can happen is you fall into a pit and I have to rescue you."

With his ally's urging, Link sits down on the mushy ground and takes his regular boots off, replacing them with the golden ones he acquired while putting the old set away in some mysterious location. Once he is back on his feet, the Hero of Time feels a bit light in the leg area, as if that part of his body has become weightless thanks to the magic of the boots. They are so light, in fact, that when he tries to walk forward even a step he ends up going farther than he desires, forcing Riku to step off to the side to avoid being hit. Link has to use all the weight in the upper part of his body in order to put even an iota of traction into the boots, and once he stops in place he has to be very careful when he glances over at his ally and says to him "I'll have to be careful with these…One misstep and I'll run into obstacles."

"Yeah. I'll try and keep an eye out for you, but we may run into traps that attack us from behind." Giving a fair enough warning to the Hero of Time, Riku accepts his appreciative nod and the two heroes make their way out of the Dead Hand's former lair, crossing all prior rooms until they arrive where the bird statue is. Using his newly acquired Hover Boots, the Hero of Time manages to cross the gap between the ground they are on and the 'tongue' that extended from the other side. As he walks across the air, a golden, foggy veil emerges below his feet to act as a platform to help his advance. Once Link has moved far enough across the stone platform, Riku joins him on the other side with one strong leap.

After the two heroes start to head down the pitch black sided passage, the Hero of Time asks his ally "Do you think I should keep these boots on for the duration of our time here?" The teenage Overlord, curious as to why this question was brought up, says to Link "Why do you ask?" "Well…I was just thinking about how often I had to change boots the last time I acquired a new set, but considering how hard it is to walk around normally in these…" "Say no more Link." Riku swiftly interrupts the Hero of Time before he goes any further, saying to him with his arms folded behind his head and his right eyelid open to show that he is paying attention "If you are worried about having to fend off enemies that suddenly appear while you have those boots on, just leave those to me for this temple. You save your strength for the monster from the bottom of the well, that's something only your Master Sword can deal with."

With a tender smile as he turns his head back in front of him and continues on to the next room, Link sees a one-eyed spinning statue known as a Beamos ready to move its gaze onto the two heroes. However, Riku pays little attention to the creature as he moves his hands away from the back of his head and thinks with a worried slant of his eyelids "This is a bit of a conundrum now that I think about it…I have more than enough energy to keep the Lens of Truth going so long as I don't overexert myself, which means I can't use my light based powers without risking unconsciousness…But if I surrender the Lens to Link when we confront the monster, then there's a high chance he will run out of energy before we win. We have to be able to see the monster though, so one of us has to wear the Lens…"

Before he digs deeper into his own thoughts, Riku is disrupted by a sudden explosion, and he swings his right hand out after his heart skips a beat under the assumption that the two of them were under attack only to watch as the head of the Beamos falls to the ground beyond the cloud of smoke created by one of Link's bombs. The head detonates, and the Hero of Time turns to face his ally right as he puts his arm back down and tries to fake a normal pose while Link says to him "Thankfully, I can still deal with enemies that I'm aware of ahead of time" referring back to Riku's offer with that sentence as he then smiles and faces the room ahead. In this circular room are three dirt walls that look as though they could be easily broken by Link's bombs…However, a quick look at the walls on the left and right reveal their illusionary nature.

Tilting his head slightly, the teenage Overlord exclaims "Hey Link!" Grabbing the Hero of Time's attention swiftly as evidenced by the mere second it takes him to turn his head to heed what his ally has to say. "Bomb the wall in front of you, the other two are fake." With that bit of advice, Link thanks Riku and quickly gets to work on dealing with the dirt wall as the teenage Overlord thinks to himself "I got to stay focused for now…I'll get back to my thoughts when I recognize a safe passage…" With one well-timed bomb, the dirt wall is blown apart, opening the way to the chain locked door behind that will require a key to open. For the moment, the teenage Overlord scoffs and thinks to himself "Man, I can't break this lock with my powers like I did in the Water Temple, the material is just as foreign to me as the stone in the walls."

Not wanting Link to notice his annoyance, the teenage Overlord quickly changes the subject and asks the Hero of Time "So which way do you want to go, left or right?" Turning around and looking at both false walls for a few seconds, Link points to the right of his body and says with confidence "We'll probably find a key that way." Following the Hylian through the fake wall, Riku quickly remembers what the next room will be like, and as Link opens the door he decides that he can go back to what he was thinking about before while the Hero of Time deals with the puzzle. However, before that he has to actually go into the room, which has a pair of stone cloaked statues rotating around the room with long-bladed metal scythes extending from their midsections. There are also a series of silver Rupees scattered around the back, with a small maze made of wood piles preventing Link from simply running to the other side and claiming the Rupees.

"I'll keep an eye out for any sudden traps." Riku says to Link as the Hero of Time readies his shield to potentially block the scythe blades as he navigates the room. Nodding to his ally out of thanks for what he was doing, Link made his way across the room while the teenage Overlord knew in his mind that Link would be fine without the Lens of Truth. But his thin smile sank down into a worried scowl as he thought to himself "I don't know why I'm so worried about Link fighting the monster…I know that he can defeat it, that's already been written in the history of my world, but…Something has felt very off during this adventure since I encountered Ganondorf. I haven't really thought about it much until now, but a lot of things have been going down differently than I recall them…"

"First off is Ingo's behavior when we went to the Lon Lon Ranch…Whether he was mind-controlled by the King of Evil's minions or doing things of his own free will, he was never a man that would go as far as to lash out at Malon…Second was what happened with Morpha…The creature may have the ability to control water so long as its nucleus is inside, but it was always a creature that was content to stay as a limb instead of becoming a hulking beast like it did. Then there's the matter of the Lens of Truth being more strenuous to use…" After thinking about all the differences between his memories of this world and what has happened thus far, the teenage Overlord notices that Link has collected half the silver Rupees, his body kneeling down underneath the scythe blades to avoid being cut in half as he continues to cautiously move around.

But alas, instead of commenting on this bravery Riku lets out a sigh and relaxes his arms as he closes his eyelids and thinks "Then there's all this stuff that has been happening with me since Ganondorf ripped my darkness out…Most of my powers have been getting dampened out in these temples, Shiek and Rauru keep acknowledging my role as the Elemental Overlord as if it was common knowledge for them, and then there are those strange nightmares I've been having…All of these changes to this part of Hyrule's history, all of this stuff that's been happening to me…Its all because I came to this world, isn't it? My presence here isn't natural, I'm not supposed to be taking part in these events…But because I have, Ganondorf has made things harder for Link by increasing the strength of his influence across the land, making those under his control more violent…"

As a look of guilt crosses Riku's face upon thinking about this matter a little more, he then thinks to himself as his eyelids widen open "But wait a second…the Lens of Truth isn't something that once belonged to Ganondorf…its a Shiekah artifact, planted into the bottom of the well by Impa, the Sage of…Shadows…" As the teenage Overlord thinks more and more about the Lens of Truth, his eyes widen more and his disbelief becomes more apparent as he lifts his head up and continues to think "If anyone could modify what the Lens can do, it would be Impa, since she wouldn't have to be awakened as a Sage to gain their powers thanks to her close connection the Hylian Royal Family…That means she purposely increased how much energy the Lens sapped knowing full well that I would be concerned for Link's well-being and put the Lens on…But that could only mean…"

Putting two and two together swiftly, Riku lets out a horrified gasp as his lips curl into an angered scowl and he curses himself for not connecting the dots sooner. With teenage Overlord then quickly thinks to himself "Ganondorf isn't the one sabotaging my powers when I go into these temples…Its Rauru and the rest of the Sages who are weakening me! …It all makes sense too. I've never detected a dark presence in the air, and I even commented to myself that whoever is targeting me is doing their best to mask their influence…Because it would be too easy for me to recognize Rauru's energy…And now that I think about it, how would Rauru know where to find me outside the Fire Temple? He isn't omniscient…The only way would know would be if…"

"_With only a bit of his power, he inserted within you a spell that allows him to hear everything you say."_ The Sage's words echoed in Riku Mew's mind as he blinked twice out of utter shock as he thinks to himself "That lying old coot…He must have somehow used his powers to cast a spell on me after Ganondorf knocked me out so he could keep an eye on me wherever I went…I mean really now, I can't believe I accepted that reason considering that with the King of Evil's clear intent to leave me to die there would be no reason for him to plant a spell in me…" Clenching his right fist in anger after realizing just how much the Sages, particularly Rauru, have screwed him over, Riku grits his teeth and thinks to himself "You know, considering Impa was likely in Kakariko Village during the time I was unconscious, it would be all too easy for her to sneak into the house I slept in and use her power as a Sage to give me those nightmares in an attempt to frighten me off the planet…"

"…If I get a chance to confront Rauru on this later, then I'll have to ask him why he is doing all this, but right now I need to go back to being focused on this temple…" Riku says as he notices Link coming back to him with a silver key waving high above his head. A quick leap over the scythes and Link is in front of his ally with shield put away. He is ready to go, and with a cheery voice the Hero of Time says to Riku "That wasn't too bad. Lets get a move on." And with that the heroes make their way back to the previous room, heading to the locked door and unlocking it with the newly acquired key to enter the next passage, which consists of grey, lifeless stone walls and a cracked dirt floor.

Moving through the passage, the heroes are greeted by Skulltuas that Link has to promptly cut down with the Master Sword along with slanted guillotines that are dropped down at specific intervals between two goat-skulled totems. Timing it just right so they can advance past the obstacles, the heroes soon find themselves in a expansive room shrouded in a thin, dark green fog. There are more guillotines in the way, but some of them fall down at a faster pace than the ones in the hall before. Thus the two heroes must exert more caution as they leap across the pits to reach a lone platform on the other side, where a skeleton warrior padded with armor and holding both a shield and sword falls down from out of nowhere and confronts the Hero of Time.

Link quickly draws the Master Sword upon recognizing the creature as a Stalfos, and asks his ally to stand back as he carefully walks from side to side in order to follow the skeleton's movements while waiting patiently for an opening to strike. The Hero of Time psyches the Stalfos out by inching his sword slightly through the air, which causes the skeleton to raise its shield in order to protect his body. Pulling his sword back for the moment, Link continues to circle to the left with the skeleton warrior doing the same, his eyes entirely focused on the Hero of Time without realizing just what he was about to do. His right foot steps off the edge of the platform, and without any muscle mass to keep him stable the Stalfos quickly falls off and barrels down the pit, its bones breaking apart with each impact with the face of the cliff he makes.

Sheathing his sword, Link turns to Riku and says to him "Stalfos aren't very bright. Its easy to trick them into doing stuff like that." The teenage Overlord nods his head and jokingly notes to the Hero of Time "Not like you'd need to trick them." Link chuckles and says "Yeah" in response, and with that little bit of conversation the two heroes make their way to the right and leap onto the thick platform that is being raised and lowered by four incredibly well-built metal chains. After that the Hero of Time walks across the air as the platform has finished rising, waiting for the Hover Boots to stop working so he can land safely on the thin path of dirt below. Riku soon follows, but only after Link has walked a safe distance away.

Once on the ground the teenage Overlord looks to the right to see some invisible platforms beyond the edge of where the guillotine comes down at that leads to a lone locked door at the other side. Link, however, is more focused on the silver Rupees on the left. Riku didn't want them wasting time with puzzles when the monster could strike Kakariko Village at any time, so with an urgent thrust of his right hand the teenage Overlord proclaims as Link begins to move "Wait Link, those Silver Rupees are fakes. We shouldn't bother with that area…" While the Hero of Time turns to take heed of Riku's advice, the teenage Overlord stealthily clenches his left fist behind his back and focuses on the silver lock beyond the platforms, using his powers to break it so the two of them wouldn't have to waste time looking for the key while simultaneously making sure that Link wouldn't notice his actions.

Though he did have to go against the whole "I don't want to overexert myself" thing he said to himself earlier, Riku believed that this was all for the best. "Alright Riku, but the other way leads to a gap, so what should we do now?" Link says, seeing as his ally hadn't yet told him about the platforms. But after subtly pulling his left arm away from his backside he tells the Hero of Time about them, saying that he'll stand back and guide Link across. Nodding his head in full agreement of that plan, Link moves past the guillotine once it raises and uses the Hover Boots to cross over to the first steady platform. The second one, being pulled along a chain by two inanimate statues, is a little trickier though because of the boots, since Link has to step sideways to keep himself from being flung off by the platform's swift movements. After a few tense seconds though, the Hero of Time walks across the air to reach the other side. Riku joins him not long afterwards.

Once the heroes get through the door, they find themselves in a small room with five silver Rupees that Riku confirms to be real to the Hero of Time. However, Link is warned of the spiked scattered around the room, only for the Hylian to then grin and use the Hover Boots to walk over the pointed obstacles and collect the Rupees, using his Master Sword to cut down a ReDead in the process. The door on the left is then opened up, allowing the heroes to move on to a small room that had a large pot with the face of a skull on the front of it in between both sides of the staircase. The pot had a ring of blue fire on the lip, and there were four torches around the room that were lit up by the same type of fire. Only seconds after entering the room, the door is sealed behind the heroes, and a flock of Keese come down to try and bite into their skin.

Dispatching the creatures with a few aimed fireballs from Riku and arrows from Link, the way out is opened, but the Hero of Time suspects that there is more to the area than what it appears to be. He doesn't need the Lens of Truth to see that the blue flamed pot holds a secret, and with a swift climb of the staircase Link stands before the large, deathly pottery and pulls out a Bomb that he flings into the hole and watches as it is ignite by the flames and falls into the bottom with a echoing "Chink!" After a few seconds, the bomb goes off, detonating the pot into various rocky chunks that scatter across the room and chink off of the front of Link's shield as he pulls it out to defend himself.

From the shambles of the pot lies a silver key that the Hero of Time leaps down to pick up, putting his shield away mid-fall and walking over to his ally after being complimented on his quick thinking. The heroes then move back to the previous room, with Riku guiding Link towards a hookshot mark on the ceiling that the Hero of Time uses his Longshot to drag himself up and then fall back down onto the platform in front of the locked door. Riku bends his knees down and then rockets up onto the platform, following Link through the open door so the two end up in another long winding passage. This one has a fan that blows wildly every few seconds, but the breeze is strong enough that it would take a powerful brace to keep the heroes grounded.

Sitting down for a moment to put on his Iron Boots, Link quickly asks Riku "You holding up just fine with the Lens?" The teenage Overlord, as he lines with shoes with a thick, weighty stone, replies to the Hero of Time with "Yeah. Its thankfully not too exhausting to wear for me…" Though that was a bit of a lie, since thanks to the artifact of the Shiekah Riku was slowly becoming fatigued with each use of his elemental powers. However, the signs of fatigue weren't visible enough for Link to notice, so Riku didn't feel guilty about fibbing again for the time being. Thanks to the two heroes' braces, they are able to work against the fan's might and make their way to another hallway that contains three more fans that blow in differing directions. On the other side is a door, but Riku quickly looks to the left and sees something opposite of the farthest right fan.

Before they go into the door, Riku holds his hand out and stops in place, alerting Link that something has grabbed his attention as he turns around and hears his ally say to him "Hold up Link, there's a passage to the left of us…I think if you put on your Hover Boots, you could reach it by riding the wind blown by the fan." "Not a bad idea actually…" Link comments as he rubs his chin in thought. With a nod of his head afterwards, the Hero of Time switches boots once more and stands with his back turned towards the fan, waiting for the wind to blow so he can run forward and with the gained momentum he makes it onto the ground beyond. Link then moves on ahead through the next door while Riku uses his flight to cross to the other side. Once the teenage Overlord makes it to the door though, he is unable to open it because it has become locked from the other side.

"Shoot! I forgot all about that!" Riku berates himself for his lack of remembrance in this situation, and seeing as he has no other choice at the moment he stands back and waits for the Hero of Time to take care of everything on his own so he can join him in due time. It surprisingly only takes a minute for the door to open up, and once Riku is through he sees Link standing in the center of the room with Master Sword drawn and a silver key in his free hand. "Whew…Those Gibdos are just as annoying as the ReDeads I've encountered…" He comments on the battle he just had, unaware of Riku's entrance until the steel door slams down, at which poin the turns his head to face him and says with a bit of regret in his voice "Sorry that you got locked out…I didn't actually think that that door would seal you out."

"Not a problem." The teenage Overlord responds, showing no offense to what happened. Thus the two heroes went on to the next room, but were shocked by what they discovered. Floating in the air without any worldly explanation is a medium-sized metal boat with a daunting bell dangling off to the side of the bow and a demonic looking goat skull at the top of said bow. The chasm below the boat was filled with a hollow, howling fog, and the boat itself was pointed towards a seemingly endless passageway where all vision goes to perish. Link takes pause at the sight of the ship, folding his arms and tilting his head to examine the design before saying to Riku "This place was definitely created by the Shiekah…So I have to wonder…What did they use this ship for?" The teenage Overlord, with head turned to the right to glance at the ship, narrows his eyelids and sees it only as yet another secret the Sages have been keeping not only from him, but from the Hero of Time as well…

_Next Time: Confrontation with the Monster_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Nocturne of Shadow Final: Phantom Shadow Beast, Bongo Bongo**

Link turns his body around and notices Riku's glare towards the boat. Wondering just why he was looking at the ship like that, he asks him "Riku, what's the matter? Is the Lens of Truth showing you something on the boat?" The teenage Overlord, hearing the voice of his ally, snaps out of his train of thought and turns to the Hero of Time to say to him "Oh no, there's nothing on the boat from my point of view. I was just…thinking about something else." Curious to know just what Riku was thinking about yet not enough to press the issue, Link stares at Riku for a few seconds before tilting his head to the right and looking at a large stone block near the wall. With its size, the Hero of Time would easily be able to climb up to where the boat is. Thus, he walks past his ally as he continues too look at the boat, unaware of what Link was doing at the moment as he thinks to himself with slanted eyebrows "Soon enough Sages…I'll get some answers."

He then turns around as he hears the stone block grinding against the floor as Link leans back and pulls on it with both hands. "Hey, you want some help there?" Riku offers, seeing the Hero of Time struggle a bit with the weight of the block as he lines the sides of it up with the strip of brown, sideways laid bricks. With a strong grunt as he finally lines the block up perfectly, Link stands up straight and turns to the teenage Overlord, saying to him with a small sweat drop trickling down the side of his face "Nah, I can handle this. Thanks anyways though…" After one quick breath through the lips Link moves to the front of the block and pulls it back a fair enough distance so he can go to the opposite side and push it into place from there. The process takes twenty seconds, all the while Riku stands around and makes sure that there aren't any hidden traps that he forgot about.

When the rock block connects with the wall to the left of him and makes a solid sound, the teenage Overlord turns and watches as Link climbs onto the block and afterwards goes onto the platform beside the boat. The Hero of Time turns and raises his left hand towards his face with one swift swing, asking him "You coming up or do you plan to fly ahead of the ship?" Only for Riku to smile and reply with "I'll join you on the ship" in a rather chipper tone. And join him he does, for with two quick leaps the teenage Overlord makes his way onto the ship right as Link walks over to it with the help of his Hover Boots. Strangely enough though, there was not a wheel to be found on the boat, and on the smooth wooden floorboards there existed only a mark of the Triforce with a swamp green triangle in the center.

It only took a second for Link to look down at the Triforce symbol and recognize what he had to do to get the boat working again. Standing right on top of the swamp green center, the Hero of Time pulls out his Ocarina and places his lips around the blowhole, moving his fingers around in conjunction with his breath to play 'Zelda's Lullaby'. Right as the song reaches its end, the sound of bells begins to fill the air, and the previously unseen 'wheels' on the sides of the boat begin to spin around slowly. Suddenly, as Link puts his Ocarina away, the boat rises up into the air and moves forward, bobbing down and then going back up continuously as the heroes try to keep themselves from tumbling off the side of the boat as it leaves the room and heads into the expansive, sightless passageway beyond.

Not long after moving underneath the stone arch does a Stalfos drop down onto the boat, its sword immediately drawn as it begins to circle around the surprised Hero of Time. This skeleton warrior appears to be of better wit than the previous one, as it does the occasional glance to make sure that it won't slip off the edge of the boat. However, all it takes is one mistimed look for Link to use his Master Sword and strike the Stalfos' shield with enough force to push the creature right off the boat. Right as that one is dealt with though, another one leaps down behind the Hero of Time ready to plunge its sword straight into his backside. But with a quickly aimed fireball, the teenage Overlord blows the Stalfos right off the boat while Link flinches in place upon feeling the heat streak past behind him.

Lifting his body up from his prior swing and turning to face Riku with a smile, the Hero of Time thanks him for the brief assistance as Riku shakes his right hand to remove the smoke simmering off of his palm. However, despite the smile that the teenage Overlord gives to his ally, he has to turn his head to hide the sweat trickling down the right side of his face. Once Link has looked away Riku glances down and thinks to himself with slightly widened eyes "Man…I'm taxing my body too much. Even a simple fireball is draining to use because of the Lens…We need to get through this temple soon, or I'm not going to make it to the monster." As the teenage Overlord thinks, the boat suddenly stops in place after moving past a second stone arch, signifying the heroes' arrival at the next room. This area has a barely visible atmosphere, with the most noticeable thing besides the door off to the right of the boat being the large statue depicting a strange, boney bird.

However, once the heroes leap off and look past the long expanse they find a door on the other side of the room that is locked, meaning that they would have to go find a key, because as Riku puts it in his mind "Even if I break this one, I can't do anything about the lock to the monster's room…We have no choice but to find the keys…" Thus the two heroes head towards the nearby door entering a diamond shaped room that appears to be filled with nothing but pillars in the eyes of the Hero of Time. But as the teenage Overlord notes, the room is actually a maze whose walls are made invisible to those who don't wear the Lens of Truth. Because of this, Riku is asked politely by Link to lead the way through the room, which after many winding twists and turns the heroes manage to make their way to the northern door.

Upon entering the next room, the heroes are greeted by wooden walls filled to the brim with toxic spikes that will impale and kill them both instantly if nothing is done about them. Link, the quick thinker that he is, walks forward to get out of the range of Riku's body, and with the right motions he uses Din's Fire to summon forth the dome of flames necessary to lash out and incinerate the walls in one fell swoop while simultaneously killing the unaware ReDeads that stood guard over the chests on both sides. The Hero of Time notices a large golden chest to the right and walks over to it, opening it up so he can pull out the golden key inside of it that was necessary to go fight the monster. However, the heroes still required a regular silver key in order to get through the door they saw beyond the boat.

So without any hesitation, they make their way out of the room they are in and return to the maze, navigating their way through it until they arrive at the southern door, which slides open all on its own and because of that the heroes aren't shocked this time when they are locked inside of the room by iron bars. Riku, with the help of the Lens of Truth, looks past the wooden 'X' that stands in the center of the room and sees a mobile, decaying hand leaping its way across the room to try and grab onto the Hero of Time. But with a quick gesture into the air and an urgent warning Riku is able to alert Link of the Floormaster's presence and the Hero of Time is thus able to make the creature visible by drawing his Master Sword and cutting upward through the air to strike the hand across the palm.

Though the creature turns green as it writhes in pain, it wasn't about to die as swiftly as Link anticipated it would. Splitting apart into three smaller parts, the Floormaster's spawn scurries around the room in an attempt to escape the wrath of the Hero of Time, but with some well aimed arrow shots Link manages to pierce through each Floormaster in rapid succession. With the room now rid of its monsters, a light swirls around behind the Wooden 'X', revealing a small chest that the Hero of Time walks over to and opens in order to acquire the silver key needed to finally open the way to the monster's lair. Thus with no other reason to be in this particular area, the heroes back track through he prior maze and return to the room with the boat. Now that they had the keys, they needed to figure out a way across to the other side.

Link takes the helm here, using his perceptive eyes to notice a plentiful crop of Bomb Flowers in front of the bird statue and using his bow and arrow to blow up the front bomb and set off a chain reaction of explosions that crack apart the base of the statue and causes it to fall down and make a bridge to the other side thanks to the beak perfectly impaling itself into the ground. Even though the ground quakes and a cloud of dust flies towards Link upon the statue's impact, he doesn't flinch in the slightest as he puts his bow away and turns to Riku to ask him "Do you want me to use the Lens of Truth when we fight the monster?" The teenage Overlord shakes his head and replies to Link with "Trust me Link, we can't run the risk of you going unconscious during battle, and if we keep switching the Lens ownership around we will just wind up killed by the monster."

Accepting Riku's decision, Link flips the key in his hand and the two heroes make their way across the newly made bridge, going to the door and unlocking it to enter the penultimate room. The area is filled to the brim with pitch black darkness, a whispering howl filling the air as the two heroes take a look beyond the void and see a large, crypt-like steel door with a skull on the front and a large golden lock chained before it. The teenage Overlord notices a series of platforms leading towards the doorway though, all of them spread apart far enough that Link would have to utilize his Hover Boots to cross. It was a rather easy task, all things considered, and once at the other side of the room Link uses the Boss Key to undo the look and enter the room beyond…

With the gigantic door closing behind them, the heroes are greeted by a circular room lined all around by many skulls. The ground was painted a dark bluish green, with a couple red droplets being visible between the cracks representing the blood of the hundreds of fallen that this area pays tribute to in the most gruesome manner possible. Flinching only slightly at this sight, Link swiftly focuses on the pit in front of them that leads down into what was obviously the chamber the monster was hiding in, the sides of the walls leading into the room being lined with skulls as well. The Hero of Time jumps down with Riku following not long afterwards, and halfway through his descent he pulls out his Master Sword and shield.

The heroes arrive in a room with no apparent boundaries, the hole they passed through becoming smaller and smaller as they land on the ground and are swiftly bounced into the air. The surface the two were on wasn't stable, but rather rubbery in texture…And the strangest part was that the ground was circular and clearly being held together by a type of wooden base. Looking back and forth for a moment, Link says to Riku "Hey wait a second…This is a drum." The Hero of Time's familiarity with the instrument would not be the main concern at the moment though, for both heroes bounce up into the air against their will as a vibration pulses through the surface of the drum. Looking ahead, both Riku and Link flinch in shock upon noticing their enemy's sudden appearance.

Pounding down onto the drum with its large, wrinkled hands of pure flesh that dwarf both heroes combined in size is a legless monstrosity with a face consisting only of a single red eye that has a bright-orange pupil and radial iris. Surrounding said eye are six spread out triangular eyelids that are wilted like flower petals, and there are four tendrils wiggling around between some of the eyelids. Connected to the back of the monster's neck is a long, parasitic spine that appears to be one with the flesh itself and leads into the shadowed figure of the body that is dangling down from the "ceiling" of darkness, using its detached hands to continue to pound down onto the drum in while intimidating the heroes with its presence for a few seconds more until its main body disappears from Link's point of view.

The hands stop their pounding of the drum and lift up ready to fight the two heroes under the control of the monster. With the tips of its fingers lying on top of the drum's surface for a moment, the right hand rises up and thrusts itself forward towards Link, the height of the hand making it seem as though it would miss the Hero of Time completely until Riku notices the left one rising up ready to slam down onto the drum and line Link up with the path of the flying fist. If this happened, Link would certainly plummet off the side of the drum and be lost forever to the darkness. Thus with a quick extension of both of his arms, Riku launches two vines out that wrap around the thumb and pinky of the fleshy hand and applies enough pressure on the suspended hand to halt it movements temporarily while the teenage Overlord flies into the air high above the battleground and wraps his hands around the vines while tugging as hard on them as can physically muster in order to tighten the grip of the vines around the two fingers to the point that Riku is able to rip them in half.

At that point the teenage Overlord flings his hands high up because he no longer had anything to apply the strength of his pull onto, and as the vines are pulled into the air Riku lets go of them and lets them go on their way as he notices a lack of blood spraying out from the wounds he inflicted on Bongo Bongo's hands, which the boy can only assume is because of the dried state of the creature's flesh. Whatever the case may be, the monster could still be seen experiencing visible pain as its damaged hands glows blue and becomes paralyzed, and the other hand stops in place and trembles due to a shockwave of pain flowing through the psychic nerves of the monster's body. The creature, caring not about the Hero of Time for a moment, looks up at Riku with a furious glare as the teenage Overlord in turn now notices a large, burning scar across the spine of the monster.

Thinking back to the prior confrontation with Bongo Bongo in Kakariko Village, the teenage Overlord recalls his final strike against the beast, realizing then and there that he hit the creature in such a way that perfectly fit the shape and placement of the scar on the monster's back right now. And it was definitely clear that the monster recognized the boy for being responsible for the pain inflicted upon him, only now he wonders just how the strange being is able to notice him. A piercing glance through the air allows Bongo Bongo to recognize the Lens of Truth ingrained into the right eye of the teenage Overlord, and with a hollow hiss the monster's eye widens and he says in a low-pitched whisper _"My Lens of Truth…Returned to me…" _

With how distracted the monster was with the teenage Overlord, Link took a moment to note that with the fist's current height above the drum he wouldn't be able to strike him with the Master Sword, and thus he took out his bow and an arrow in order to take one quick shot at the palm of the hand above him. The point of the arrow impales itself deep into the vulnerable flesh, causing a shockwave of pain to go through Bongo Bongo's body and remind the monster that it wasn't just fighting one hero, and that its innermost desire to obtain 'its' Lens of Truth would have to wait until he has killed its captured prey. For the moment though, the monster was at the mercy of the heroes, seeing as its only way to attack is disabled. But only Riku could actually do something thanks to the Lens of Truth, and after dealing with the right hand the Hero of Time keeps another arrow at the ready on his bow as he turns his head up at his ally and asks him "Hey Riku, mind telling me where the monster went off to?"

"Umm…He's right in front of you Link. You might want to hurry though, his hands are about to recover!" Expressing urgency towards the situation, the teenage Overlord slowly descends so he can be ready to strike the creature when Link does his part. With his arms raised and the air tugged back to its maximum length, the Hero of Time looks ahead of him, and without a single idea in regards to the position of the monster's eye Link fires a shot straight and true that pierces straight through the pupil and makes the creature visible as it collapses onto its drum and the eye convulses in pain. Bongo Bongo was stunned, but the sensation of pain wouldn't last for long. The heroes only had seconds to strike, and they knew that all too well as evidenced by the acknowledging head nods and the quick draws of their swords.

Link, being the closest to the monster, runs across the drum without the rubbery surface affecting his movements thanks to the Hover Boots and slashes the creature vertically across the eye, stopping his movements just in time to avoid sliding into the monster itself after his attack has finished. The creature squirms in pain, but Link doesn't notice this as he back flips out of the way and allows his teenaged ally to follow through on his attack by rapidly descending from the sky and cutting down through the eye of Bongo Bongo with his ignited blade. Both attacks leave no lasting scars on the monstrosity, but the damage is still obvious because of the revolted screech the creature releases as it rises off the drums and reinvigorates his hands with a solemn thought, turning his main body invisible and quickly using the back of his left hand to smack the teenage Overlord hard as he lands on the drum after his attack.

With his sword extending from the opposing hand, Riku has no way to defend himself against the blow and is swiftly knocked far away from the drum, leaving Link to temporarily face the invisible creature while his ally has to regain his composure and return. The Hero of Time, with a panicked expression on his face upon witnessing the monster attack Riku, turns to where he suspects the monster to be and pulls out his bow and an arrow immediately after sheathing his sword and fires it through the air. However, the arrow misses its mark greatly as a gust of wind blows on by behind Link, suggesting to him that the monster has moved to the other side to avoid falling for the same trick twice. At the same time, Bongo Bongo takes its hands and begins to spin them rapidly around in the air above the edge of the drum, moving both of them in opposite directions to confuse the Hero of Time and make it nearly impossible for him to connect even a single arrow with his desires target.

Link recognizes the futility of the situation and he arches his eyebrows in annoyance and lowers his bow to the front of his waist, at the same time though he also knows that the monster can't attack him without stopping one of his hands completely. Moving his eyes back and forth to focus on the path the hands travel, the Hero of Time notes their speeds and thus quickly recognizes when the right hand starts to slow down as a sign that he was about to be attacked. "Got to remain focused…" Link thinks quietly to himself as the right hand stops and lowers down in front of him in the form of a fist, thrusting itself across the surface of the drum only to be dodged by the Hero of Time tumbling to the left, where he then picks himself up and kneels down while pointing his bow at the fist as it finishes moving.

But the monster is smarter than the Hero of Time gives him credit for, and swings his left hand down through the air to grab onto Link and clench him tightly between his rotting fingers, his grip so strong that Link's bow is dropped from his grasp and falls onto the surface of the drum. Without hesitation, Bongo Bongo flings Link beyond the edge of the drum, his body descending head first towards the poisoned depths below. Riku, who has just now recovered from the previous blow to his body, straightens himself out and looks up in panic as he sees Link falling to his doom, and with a bold declaration of his name the teenage Overlord flies through the air as fast as he can, overexerting his body just so he can swoop below the Hero of Time and catch him in time with his extended arms. Because of Link's weight, the teenage Overlord had to quickly rise up and let him jump off back onto the drum.

Once the two heroes are on their feet, a sweating Riku forces a grin to Link as the Hero of Time thanks him for the assistance. But now that they were back to the battle, Link had to pick up his bow so he can deal with the beast's hands. "I'll defend you Link…" Riku wearily says as he stands up straight and dispels his sword to replace what was in his hands with crackling flames. "Just get the bow, quickly!" He expressed urgency towards the situation, giving Link not a single chance to argue about his condition. The Hero of Time turns towards his bow and runs forward, the hands of Bongo Bongo moving forward to intercept him in rapid succession. The right hand thrusts through the air like a fist, the knuckles being incinerated by a crescent flame waved across the air by Riku as Link slides underneath the clenched fingers while the left hand tries to slam flat down on top of the Hero of Time only for the teenage Overlord to kick himself forward and uppercut the palm of the hand midway through its descent, giving Link an adequate amount of time to pick himself up from his slide and scoop the bow into his hands.

Positioning the arrow just right in the center of the string, the Hero of Time pulls back and aims straight ahead as Riku proclaims to him with his burning fist ingrained into the searing flesh of Bongo Bongo's left hand "Take the shot, he's right in front of you!" Link has no hesitation on his mind as he releases his grip on the arrow and watches as it flies right through the air, piercing the eye of Bongo Bongo once more and forcing the creature to become visible…For what would be its final time. Dropping the bow to save time, Link draws out his Master Sword and charges at the mighty monster, leaping high into the air and holding his sword down in front of his body so he can impale the blade through the entirety of the creature's eye as he lands.

The sharpness of the Master Sword along with the darkness purging magic buried within does more then enough damage to the monstrosity, and with that last blow the creature swiftly rises high above the drum…Pulling itself away from the Master Sword and shaking its back and forth violently while drawing its hands by its sides and pounding away at its drum, the beats becoming slower and slower until the moment comes where everything goes silent for both the heroes and the monster named Bongo Bongo…The monster slowly turns pitch black, becoming one with its home environment as it falls onto the surface of the drum and melts away into a rancid puddle of bubbling darkness that spreads out across the drum and turns into an ethereal form filled with burning light-blue flames…

In a way, Link felt somewhat sorry for the monster, and the sheathing of his sword takes a while simply because he takes a moment to stare at the drum that Bongo Bongo played with a gaze of pity. But with the battle now over and the portal of blue light appearing before him, the Hero of Time knew that he would have to go meet the Sage of Shadows, who has now been awakened thanks to his and Riku's efforts. Speaking of the teenage Overlord, Link turns to him as he lands on the ground and says with an all too grateful smile "Hey, thanks for wearing the Lens this whole dungeon. I really don't think I could have done with without you." Riku smiles in turn, replying to the Hero of Time with "Not a problem Link. Now go on to see the Sage of Shadows…I'll meet you outside in Kakariko Village." Nodding his head in response, Link then moves towards the portal that will take him to the Chamber of Sages, leaving the Shadow Temple behind as Riku watches him ascend in the crystal.

Once it is certain that Link can no longer look at him, Riku finally drops the façade he had put on for the Hero of Time and collapses onto his knees, his heavily beating heart going in tune with his breaths as sweat quickly trickles down the sides of his face and patter down onto the drum. "Damn it…All…" Riku curses between breaths, his right hand rising up to the front of his face as he wastes no time in removing the Lens of Truth from his eye with but a thought. The artifact now held tightly in the grasp of his hand, the teenage Overlord feels a bit of relief as he lifts his head up and says with a weary scowl "Link…You could have done this temple all by yourself if it wasn't for me being here…"

After taking a few more calming breaths, Riku glances down at the Lens of Truth as he picks his body up and says to himself "As much trouble as you were worth though…I think that there is still something I might need you for, Lens of Truth…" Looking up towards the ceiling while putting the artifact away into his left pants pocket, the teenage Overlord thinks to himself with an annoyed slant of his eyebrows "Geez, this will be a pain in the butt…Its not like the entrance to the temple is right next to the boss room like the two temples before…Oh well, what can you do sometimes?" Having to accept the fact that he has a long way to travel, the teenage Overlord bounces off the drum and flies through the air to escape Bongo Bongo's former domain, making his way out the door and traversing room after room of the Shadow Temple until he arrives back at the entrance, at which point he finds the Hero of Time arriving on top of the hexagon platform via a pillar of light from above.

"Wow, that was fast." Riku says as Link lands on the platform and turns to face his ally. There was a smile on the Hero of Time's face, one that didn't fade even with all the raindrops that were falling down upon him. "Princess Zelda is alive." Link says to the teenage Overlord. Riku flinches to not draw suspicion from his ally, and Link then goes on to say "Impa, the Sage of Shadows, told me that she managed to keep her safe for the last seven years…She didn't tell me where she was, obviously, but I don't think that matters…This news just further supports my suspicion that Shiek is actually Zelda." "Well that's great to hear Link!" Riku says with genuine happiness towards Link's discovery. "Yeah…But as much as I'd like to try and find Shiek, its getting dark out and the rain is coming down rather hard…So we should sleep for now and then head off in the morning."

Nodding in agreement at that plan, the teenage Overlord follows Link over the nearby fence as the two land in the graveyard and weave through the stones until they arrive back at the village. They head to the house that they have slept in before, being greeted by the merry house owner and swiftly allowed access to the front of the fireplace so they can dry their clothes off before heading into bed for the night. Riku and Link cuddle under the sheets, but while the Hero of Time goes to sleep right away the teenage Overlord pulls out the Lens of Truth and whispers to himself "In all of these nightmares its like my body is actually a part of the dream world…So lets see if I can bring you along with me." Putting the Lens on quietly, Riku closes his eyelids and lays back against the pillow, going into a deep slumber so he can hopefully visit the nightmare once more…

_Riku's eyelids widen as he returns to the nightmare he has witnessed countless times before. He is back to the same position he was before, with the Ocarina of Time held in his hands and the King of Evil telling him to play it. However, just as he predicted, the teenage Overlord has the vision of the Lens of Truth with him this time, and instead of learning the meaning behind this nightmare he instead planned to identify the shadowed being floating behind Ganondorf. Glaring beyond the King of Evil's head, Riku uses the Lens of Truth to get a perfectly clear look at the spirit, his eyes widening in utter shock as he now recognizes just who the spirit is. The titanic being, despite his demonic origin, had a muscular, humanoid figure to him, with most of his dark grey skin covered in small, pitch black scales, though the palms of his claws and the backs of his legs remain relatively untouched by them. The demon had pitch black eyes with glowing crimson pupils, his hair spreading back in the form of an uncontrolled bush of fire. The only article of clothing the demon wore was a spread apart dark brown cloth wrapped around his waist that extended beyond the length of his legs and was edged with gold._

Riku, waking up in a cold sweat, pulls his body up straight and pants quietly in order to not awaken Link from his slumber. The lights had been put out in this house, and the only other sound around was from the raindrops outside. The teenage Overlord takes the Lens of Truth off in a hurry, his heart racing as he stutters rapidly, unable to say the name of the demon floating behind Ganondorf for a few seconds until he recalls what Bongo Bongo had said before, at which point Riku says in a horrified whisper "T-There's no denying it…That was him…The Demon King that once plagued Hyrule…Demise…"

_Next Time: The City of Thieves_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Gerudo Valley**

The morning eventually came for Kakariko Village, the rain clouds leaving the sky and creating a glistening layer of water droplets along the grass outside everyone's houses. The Hero of Time, having a rather good night's rest after everything he accomplished the day before, rises from his bed with arms stretched into the air and looks towards the open blinds to see the bright light of the rising sun greeting him as he blinks a few times to adjust to the change in atmosphere. Once he has accomplished this, Link decides to check up on his ally, his head slowly turning to the left until the boy's body was in his line of sight. The Hero of Time was surprised to see that Riku was awake this time around, with his body sitting upright with his hands laid out in on top of his legs and his eyelids sagging due to an overall lack of sleep.

"Riku…You ok there?" Link asks concernedly, his quiet voice reaching into the teenage Overlord's eardrums and alerting him that the Hylian had awoken, which in turn causes his heart to skip a beat as he widens his eyes and turns to face the Hero of Time with a somber expression on his face. Letting out a vapid yawn, Riku smacks his lips twice before saying to Link "Hmmm…Oh, good morning Link…How did you sleep last night?" The teenage Overlord does little to hide his tiredness, and as Link raises his eyelids he slowly says "I slept fine…But you obviously didn't. How come?" After the Hero of Time asks him that question, Riku stays quiet for a few seconds, his mind reluctant to say anything about what he saw in his nightmares hours before because he knew that Link wouldn't know what to say about it.

"I…I just had a bit of a hard time sleeping…Nothing more…Nothing less…" It was a simple lie, something that Riku was getting far too tired of doing to Link after all that he has done with him thus far, but he knew that this was all for the best…Even if deep down, the teenage Overlord knew that this made him no better than the Sages who were keeping secrets from him. "So do you want me to let you try and rest up some?" Link asks, to which Riku replies to with a polite shake of his head, and he then says to him "No no…I'll be fine once I start moving around. Don't worry about it…" Giving Link the benefit of the doubt as he smiles and pushes himself off the bed, Riku does a powerful stretch of his arms above his head and wiggles both limbs around beside his body before he turns to face his ally.

Blinking twice to show that he is still a tiny bit suspicious of the amount of energy Riku is showing, the Hero of Time then proceeds to kick himself out of the bed and stand upright. The two heroes are then greeted by the house owner, who they then proceed to have breakfast with for a bit until Link asks the lady "Say miss…Do you know where Shiek is right now?" The lady, clearly not recognizing the name of the person the Hero of Time is asking about, responds with a befuddled "Who now dear?" Link drops his fork and stands up off of his chair, raising his hand into the air to represent Shiek's height in comparison to himself and says "He's a male Shiekah about this tall…" before moving his left hand in front of the appropriate side of his face to cover it up as he then explains "With his hair covering this side of his face…Any of this ringing a bell?"

The lady raises her eyes up in deep thought, her left foot tapping on the ground as she murmurs to herself and repeats the information Link has given her. "Hmm…Oh! That's right, he's that polite, mysterious young man who helped repair the village after that horrible monster from the well attacked! Yes…If I do recall, he said he was heading for the desert to take care of something. I hope he's alright…" Having received information on Shiek's current whereabouts, Link and Riku share a quick glance at each other before the Hero of Time sits back down to finish his breakfast. Once the heroes are done, they thank the lady for their hospitality and head out on their way. With arms folded in front of his chest, Link thinks about the fact that Shiek is heading for the desert and tries to remember the significance behind why he might be out there…

After a few seconds of deep thought, Navi emerges from behind Link, and the Hero of Time looks up at her with both coming to a sudden realization that they declare simultaneously "Shiek went to Gerudo Valley!" Riku flinches in surprise out of a combination of his tiredness mixed with the sudden loudness flushing through his ears. The teenage Overlord, wondering what the two are talking about due to a lack of attention paid, ask them "Huh? What did you figure out?" Link turns to his ally and says in an explanative tone of voice "Ganondorf is one of the Gerudos, a tribe of thieves who live in the desert outside of Hyrule. Since that lady told us that Shiek went to the desert, that can only mean that the last Sage is waiting to be awakened somewhere in Gerudo Valley."

"Yeah, that's probably it…But do you even know how to get to Gerudo Valley?" Riku asks, his head tilted as he wonders how the Hero of Time will respond. "Its somewhere to the left of Lake Hylia. In fact, there is a waterfall in Gerudo Valley that supplies the Lake with most of its water." After Link explains the direction they need to go, Riku smiles and says to him "So I guess you are going to need Epona to travel over there." Link nods his head, but wonders just why his ally is still smiling at him with his eyelids closed as if he was trying to hide an expression of annoyance…And then it hits the Hero of Time like one of Bongo Bongo's fists "Oh! I forgot about Epona!" Link declared, feeling like an absolute jerk for neglecting to check up on Epona after returning from the past, and in turn he slapped the front of his face with the full force of his left hand. Opening his eyelids and gesturing beside his shoulder with his right hand, Riku says to Link "She should be ok, we were only gone for a day and Lon Lon Ranch was close enough by for her to go to if she needs…"

The Hero of Time removes his hand from his face, glaring at his ally because of how bad that sentence truly was, something that Riku doesn't actually get into he slowly realizes what awaited the horse at Lon Lon Ranch "…Oh." He says as he grimly recalls what happened before when he and Link went there. Regretting his prior comments, the teenage Overlord says with urgency "Lets go check to see if she's still in front of the old Hyrule Castle Town…" Running towards the entrance of Kakariko Village, the two heroes make their way down the staircase and run across Hyrule Field until they arrive at the moat of the ruined town. Epona is nowhere to found, but there are quite a few hoof marks leading away from the place and towards Lon Lon Ranch. This was one of those times where Riku was regretting being right, and let out a heavy sigh before saying to a worried Link "Lets head on over and see if Epona is alright…"

The two heroes then cross Hyrule Field to head over to Lon Lon Ranch, with Riku regretting the fact that they are losing a lot of time by dealing with this detour, only to remind himself afterwards that he couldn't just tell Link to forget about Epona. After climbing the hill, the heroes are surprised to find that everything seems relatively normal in the ranch considering what happened the last time. Link blinks his eyelids a few times, wondering if he has actually entered the right place until the stable door opens and Malon walks out with a pitchfork grasped in her right hand. She notices the two heroes, her eyes lighting up almost instantly as she drops her farm tool and runs over to them, grabbing Link by her hands and shaking them up and down as a bright smile crosses her face and she cheerfully proclaims "I'm so glad to see you again Link!"

"M-Malon…" Link says, caught off-guard by the woman's hasty greeting. Once Malon lets go of the Hero of Time's arms her face becomes flushed with red for a noticeable moment before she lowers her smile and tilts her head to Riku in order to say politely "And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you Riku." The teenage Overlord waves to her and cracks a light smile, saying nothing as she looks back at Link as he asks her "How are you holding up after…What Ingo did?" The Hero of Time tries to delicately approach the subject considering how traumatic it had to have been for Malon, but the woman then replies to Link in a chipper tone "Oh I'm perfectly fine after Riku healed me up with some form of magic" and the Hero of Time glances over his left shoulder to face his ally with a surprised yet confused look on his face before turning back to face Malon as she continues to speak.

"As for Ingo…Guess what? It turns out he was actually brainwashed by two of Ganondorf's loyal followers the whole time he was in control of the ranch. The spell was broken after you escaped with Epona, and now my dad runs the ranch once more. Everything is back to normal, and I have you two to thank for all of that!" Riku smiled upon hearing this fantastic news, ignoring the mention of brainwashing while Link blinks a few times in utter surprise and stuttering out to Malon "W-Wow…I guess you were right when you said that Ingo could never do the things he did. But to think that he was brainwashed…Did Ingo say anything about the identity of the followers?" Malon, lifting her eyes up and placing one finger against her chin, taps it twice while deep in thought before her eyebrows sink and she says after a heavy sigh "No…Ingo never said anything. After my dad questioned him on his behavior, Ingo retreated to his quarters guilt-ridden…"

Though Malon sounded a bit saddened upon thinking about Ingo's guilt, the lady perked up and said with her eyes focused on the Hero of Time "But Ingo will likely be back to work in a matter of time. That's what I believe anyways." Closing her eyelids and smiling, Malon then says in a slightly embarrassed tone "I'm sorry…I've been going on and on without letting you even bring up why you are here. Though I imagine you are looking for Epona, right?" Link nods his head, gesturing forward with his left hand while saying to the woman "Yeah…It is a long story, but we forgot to pick up Epona after going through Hyrule Field so we assumed she came here for safety…" Malon, widening her eyes in shock and letting out a light gasp, says to the Hero of Time "You left Epona out alone in the dangerous Hyrule Fields? Well geez, maybe a neglectful man like you shouldn't be allowed to ride such a beautiful horse!"

Link doesn't flinch, for he knows deep down that Malon was just joking around, something that the girl is embarrassed to have been found out about so quickly, and after a return to a normal demeanor she pouts quickly and says "You could have at least faked a reaction, Link. Oh well, doesn't matter, I'm just holding you two up now…Epona is this way, follow me." Guiding the heroes to follow her with a wave of her hand as she turns around, Malon leads them to the corral where Link obtained Epona before. Standing in the center of the grassy field with teeth munching at the dampened blades is the horse herself, her head suddenly perking up as she hears Link walking towards her. Neighing happily over the fact that her owner is alive, Epona stops her meal and trots over to nudge her head against the Hero of Time's chest and 'purr' as he pets her mare and says in a quiet, apologetic tone "I'm so sorry for not coming back for you Epona…It was a complete accident, and I can't say sorry enough for what I have done."

Epona doesn't appear to care about what has happened, as she continues to neigh merrily while rubbing against Link until the Hero of Time steps back, at which point she lifts her head up and allows Link to get on top of her saddle, his hands wrapped around her rein as Malon walks up beside the two of them and asks with her head held up high as she realizes that Link is already going to head off "…Link, you don't have a home, do you?" Her voice was ripe with nervousness, her right hand embarrassingly brushing the right side of her hair back before Link turns and looks down at her in order to respond nonchalantly with "Not anymore." With a slight smile, Malon says to the Hero of Time "When you finally defeat Ganondorf…Come back to the ranch, you can live with us."

The Hero of Time, not knowing how to physically react to Malon's kind offer, replies in a monotone voice "I'll definitely do that Malon…Thanks again for keeping Epona safe before we came to get her." With his appreciative words, Link bucks Epona's rein once and causes the proud horse to trot off, with Malon folding her right hand in front of her chest and smiling happily as she waves to Link with her other hand, bidding him farewell for now as he leaves the corral and with Riku by his side the two of them return to Hyrule Field. The teenage Overlord, who was understandably silent up until this point, turns his head towards Link and says without a single bit of teasing "She really likes you Link."

The Hero of Time turns his head to face his ally, asking him "What do you mean by that?" He was oblivious to Malon's true feelings, because even though he had the body of an adult Link still had some bits of childhood innocence and naivety left in his mind. As the two heroes slowly walk across Hyrule Field towards where Gerudo Valley lies, Riku folds his arms behind his head and says to the Hero of Time "Malon's life was pretty bad for a while there, with her father banished from the ranch while a brainwashed Ingo became its new owner…It must have been stressful for her to constantly take care of the horses, Cuckoos and cows while 'Ingo' continued to see them as nothing more than profit. It was all just so hard for her, but she kept a smile on her face all the same and waited for the day when everything would go back to normal…And then comes this brave, selfless warrior who not only saves her favorite horse from being sold, but also frees Ingo from his brainwashing and allows her father to take control of the ranch once more…Because of that, she can finally go back to being her dutiful if somewhat perky self, and she has her knight to thank for all that…"

Link sits and ponders all that was said to him just now, with Riku smiling his way and saying to a somewhat befuddled Hero of Time "You, Link. She considers you to be her knight." "H-Huh?" Link is taken aback by Riku's explanation, his hands releasing their grip on Epona's reins and causing the horse to momentarily stop as her rider turns to face his ally with red on his face as he says to him "S-So she's in love with me?" "Yep." The teenage Overlord replies bluntly. "Its kind of like what happened with Ruto, only Malon isn't doomed to become a Sage." Now that the truth has been revealed to an otherwise oblivious Link, the Hero of Time says in disbelief "Um…Wow…" He was rather quiet and appeared deep in thought as he looked down in front of himself and slanted his eyelids, but after a few seconds he gripped onto Epona's reins and said to Riku in a confident tone of voice "I'll definitely consider Malon's offer to live at the ranch then. But for now, we have to focus on our quest."

Nodding his head in agreement, Riku smiles as he turns his head forward and continues his walk across Hyrule Field alongside the Hero of Time as he whips Epona's reins lightly and rides across the plains to their destination in the east. Eventually the grassy knolls and varied fences give way to a dried up landscape filled with rocky landmarks and unstable looking cliffsides, with the temperature suddenly increasing to cast down a humid warmth upon the heroes. This change doesn't affect Riku too much, but the teenage Overlord knew that Link and Epona would surely become dehydrated in due time, especially since the sun was still going to be up for a few hours. With his concerns taking precedence over everything else as they cross the wooden board over the small bed of water, the teenage Overlord raises his right hand into the air and focuses on the water below him, drawing it up through four separates streams that converge into a spherical form above his palm until it is roughly the size of his head. Afterwards, Riku focuses on removing the impurities from the water such as gravel and germs until its fresh enough for consumption.

Once the heroes arrive past the bridge, Riku says to Link "Hey Link, you and Epona should drink this." The Hero of Time, upon hearing this, asks Epona to stop so he can turn and watch as with a push of his hand through the air Riku moves the orb of water in front of his face. A bit cautious about drinking from the orb even though he trusts his ally, Link waits until Riku says to him "Don't worry, I'll keep the water stabilized until you and Epona have drank it." before he moves his head forward and sucks in some water through his lips. After a few seconds, Riku moves the orb away and puts it in front of Epona, who neighs at the sight of it until Link reassures her after a refreshed smack of his lips "Don't worry Epona, it won't hurt you." The horse, believing her owner with all of her heart, sipped some of the water and replenished some of her depleted liquids.

The orb was dealt with completely, meaning that Riku just had to shake his hand and lower his arm down after Epona was done before accepting the horse's merry neigh as thanks for the treat. "Thanks a lot Riku…" Link said with his head turned to face his ally, and the teenage Overlord replies with "Not a problem." The two heroes then walk forward a bit more, looking at the gigantic chasm set before them and Link quickly noticing that the bridge is out. The Hero of Time scratches the back of his head, looking at this conundrum with a not too worried outlook as he says to Epona "Step back a bit…We can make this jump." The horse follows her given command, trotting back a couple of steps until she is lined up straight along where the bridge once was, at which point she dashes forward like the valiant steed she is, leaping high into the air to cross the chasm so easily that it was like she had done it many times before.

Once the horse has landed on the other side, Riku leaps on over, using his flight to aid himself slightly before landing on the ground and joining the Hero of Time as he moves up the nearby stairs and is swiftly greeted by a portly, blue-shirt wearing man with a slight case of slack jaw and a bald head "Unbelievable! I didn't think it was possible for anyone to cross the chasm!" He was shocked, no…flabbergasted at the feat that Epona just performed, and with the man's words grabbing the attention of the horse's rider Link has Epona trot over to him so he can get off and look the man straight on with a puzzled look on his face before asking him "What happened to the bridge?" The man, after an annoyed grumble, says to the tunic wearing stranger "Eh, the pesky Gerudo thieves broke the bridge a good while ago…"

"I want to fix it, I really do…But all of my workers are gone! They said working as carpenters isn't cool, and they went to the Gerudo's Fortress in order to become thieves…" Link, with a click of his tongue against his teeth, says to the carpenter "I don't think that's going to work you well for them…Do you want me to check up on them since we were heading that way?" The carpenter, grumbling once more, replies to the man in front of him with "If you wish. Just be careful…The Gerudo aren't exactly known for being lenient to trespassers…" Nodding to show that he has taken that advice into consideration, Link leaps back onto Epona and heads off towards the only other path present to him in the valley with Riku joining up with him not long afterwards.

The two move through the winding, wide open path for minutes on end until they notice a strange sign dangling from a rope placed between both faces of the valley. "Hmm?" Link mutters, his mind pondering the meaning behind the sign as he rides underneath it and notices a staircase to the right. "…Stay here for a moment Epona…" The Hero of Time stops his horse in place and gets off of her, guiding her to stand behind the wall to the left of the staircase as he lifts his head up and notices a block-shaped complex with carved in windows and doors. This had to be part of Gerudo's Fortress, which means they were now in enemy territory and had to proceed with caution. Link turned to Epona, who neighed quietly before the Hero of Time moved a finger in front of lips and demanded absolute silence from her.

Riku didn't require such a thing though, as he stayed quiet right away and only made a move once Link waved his hand in front of him. The two heroes walk past the staircase and make their way around the wall, looking to the left and noticing a gargantuan bamboo gate that's blocking the way to the desert that Shiek is supposed to be at. However, there was someone keeping guard on top of a nearby water tower, meaning that at the moment the heroes had no way of getting to their true destination. So they continued along the rocky wall until they are able to get a better look at the large stone complex. There are multiple rooms spread across four floors, each part having an outer wall shaped in such a way that they end up looking like part of the nearby valley walls.

As the two heroes lean against the wall and Link peeks over the rock to see who is guarding the place, the Hero of Time is shocked to see just what the other Gerudos look like. The Gerudos have human-like, feminine bodies, but their skin is noticeably brown with their ears rounded much like Riku's are. They also have prominent noses, tied up red hair, yellow eyes, and a purple cloth obscuring their mouths. The color of their cloth is copied onto the rest of their clothing, from their midriff baring mini-shirts to their puffy pants and topless shoes. The Gerudos also carry around large, imposing pikes in their right hands. But the most important thing that Link took from all this is that there wasn't a single male amongst the Gerudos standing guard outside of the Fortress. Which he found rather odd once he took Ganondorf into consideration and all. But before he gets a chance to think about this oddity any further…

"What do we have here?" An intrigued, tough but feminine voice speaks out from behind the two heroes, causing Link to flinch in shock before he quickly stands up and turns to notice that a Gerudo is standing behind them with her pike tapping against her shoulder twice and her eyelids slanted. Link immediately draws out his Master Sword, but before he can act he watches as Riku becomes weary eyed and drops to the ground. Shocked that his ally has been knock unconscious so easily, the Hero of Time notices a small dart has been lodged into the back of Riku's neck, and as the Gerudo bends down and plucks the dart out with her left hand she chuckles coyly and says to the Hylian "So…What brings you and your little friend to our fortress?"

Wondering just why the Gerudo is trying to make small-talk after knocking out his ally, the Hero of Time keeps a cautious demeanor as he tries to explain to the Gerudo "We didn't come to cause any trouble…" The Gerudo lifts the dart up and twirls it around with two of her fingers while averting her gaze away from the Hylian as she replies to him with "Then you shouldn't have intruded on Gerudo territory…" Clenching the dried up dart into her gloved hand, the Gerudo lets out a screeching whistle, and in a matter of seconds Link is surrounded on all possible sides by a swarm of Gerudo guards. The Hero of Time glances back and forth at his enemies, watching as they point their sharp pikes his way and one of the Gerudo asks the one who called them "What shall we do with this one?"

With an expression in her eyes that made it clear that she was slyly smiling behind her cloth, the Gerudo said to her people "Put them both up in the highest brig…And take his horse away too." Link, upon hearing the mere mention of a horse, turns his head to the left and watches as two Gerudos drag Epona away with thick ropes wrapped around her resisting legs, the sheer horror of this sight causing the Hero of Time to scowl and nearly declare the horse's name in panic before he is struck in the neck by the same dart that got his ally, and with his eyelids immediately drooping down and his body growing limp Link loses his grip on the Master Sword and sinks to the ground unconscious…

Much later, Link awakens, his head pulling away from a cold stone wall as he moans in pain because of how hard the dart struck his neck, and he rubs it slowly while trying to stay fully conscious. "Ugh…That didn't feel good at all…" The Hero of Time blinks his eyelids twice to gain vision, only to find that everything is darker than it should have been. Puzzled by this, Link lifted his head up to find that it was now nighttime, with the full moon floating high in the sky and an incredible chilling gale flowing into the jail compound that the Hylian now found himself trapped in. Quickly getting to his feet, the Hero of Time notices that he is still in possession of his Master Sword and shield, along with all other equipment he had picked up along his journey.

He also notices that Riku is lying down on the ground beside him, though he is currently in the midst of snoring, indicating that while he has gotten rid of the toxins that knocked him unconscious he has chosen to get some much needed rest after failing to sleep the night before. Because of how comfortable his ally look, Link chose not to try and wake him up for now. The Hero of Time looks up, noticing a large wooden board attached to the ceiling and immediately pulling out his Longshot to grapple up to it and land on a ledge overlooking the entirety of Gerudo's Fortress. The guards are still walking about, patrolling their territory for anymore intruders while being completely unaware that one of their captives is looking at them this very moment. With a courageous look in his eyes the Hero of Time whispers to himself "Better get moving…" Vowing in his mind to free the carpenters and Epona while also figuring out a way to himself and Riku into the desert where Shiek awaited…

_Next Time: One Man vs. The Gerudos_


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:**

Look...I know for a fact that there are people reading this story. Whether its the same people simply viewing the new chapters or not is something I don't know though. I just really, really want to know what you readers think of my stories. It can be as simple as pointing out a continuity or grammar error, or it can be a couple sentences explaining what you like or dislike about a chapter or the story as a whole. I'm not asking for much here, I just want to know what you think of what I write. So if you want to keep reading this, could you please take a little time to review? That is all I ask, and thank you...

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**Chapter 21: The Fortress and the Desert**

Link kneels down, surveying the movements of the Gerudo guards and getting a grand look at the scope of the Fortress itself as he thinks to himself "I can't just jump down from here…The sounds from my fall will alert the guards of my escape…" After a few more seconds of watching how the guards move in such an organized manner, the Hero of Time looks back into the compound he was trapped in and notices a lone rope lying off near a corner. Jumping down and walking over to the rope without waking his ally, Link picks it up and hangs it around his left shoulder, making certain that it is firmly secure before he takes out his Longshot and heads back up onto the ledge he was just on and thinking to himself "Alright…I can make this work." After putting the tool away the Hero of Time pulls out an arrow and drops the rope beside himself. He kneels down, tying one end of the rope to the quiver and after he has tightened the knot he drops the other end off the side.

He then takes out his bow and places the tied up arrow against the string as Navi makes her presence known in front of him. With a quick hush, the Hero of Time whispers to Navi "Please stick around here to keep an eye on Riku…I can handle this on my own." The fairy, flapping her wings as slowly as she can in order to avoid arousing suspicion, says as she sinks down into the compound "Be careful Link…" Smiling and thanking his fairy companion with a nod of his head, Link then points his head up and launches his arrow at the wooden board in the ceiling, the tip impaling into the center and making a perfectly sized and stable rope ladder for Link to slide down and land on the ground without alerting the guards. Of course, there was still the matter of the large rope that was now hanging in front of the tower he escaped from.

These Gerudos were perceptive, that was determined when Link and Riku were discovered without making so much as a sound, so Link couldn't let there be any traces of his escape. Thus, after pulling out his bow and another arrow, the Hero of Time aims towards the end of the quiver of his prior shot and lets loose a straight arrow that cuts through the very end of the rope and causes the entire thing to fall to the ground in front of him, where he then picks it up and stuffs it into a nearby rock crevice. He then puts his bow away, quickly retreating into the nearby entrance of the fortress before one of the guards can turn around and notice him. Link was now inside the complex, which not only had rather good lighting but also had a warmer atmosphere compared to the unnaturally cold outdoors.

The walls were lined with many sand colored bricks, all of them pressed together so perfectly that only a strong earthquake could even begin to disrupt the building's structure. Link, not knowing where to go, had to use a ton of caution as he crept around the corner and made his way into an open room with a set of iron bars and a chain locked steel door acting as a jail cell for some unknown soul. The Hero of Time walks on ahead, taking note of the beastly skull hanging above the nearby exit hall along with the lone torch and the boxes to the right. After a couple more steps towards the front of the iron bars and with his head turned to the right, Link's heart suddenly skips a beat as a voice calls out to him excitedly "Hey, you! Young man, over there! Look over here, inside this cell!"

Immediately turning to the left in panic, the Hero of Time is surprised to find a portly man standing inside of the cell with an open blue vest and a brown mustache that covers the entirety of his upper lip. He also had a square head of hair that didn't extend down the sides of his face, oddly enough. The most important thing Link took from the man's appearance was that he looked very similar to the main carpenter he saw earlier. Instead of saying anything though, Link shifted his eyes back and forth because of a deep concern that the man's voice alerted the guards, and after confirming otherwise he let out a quiet whisper to tell the man to lower his volume. Getting the idea and slowly opening his mouth with realization, the man says quietly "A thousand pardons young man…"

"Now…I have no idea where you came from, but you must have a lot of guts to make it past all the guards around here! All of my fellow carpenters are imprisoned somewhere in this fortress…If you can get us out of here, we'll repay you somehow! But be careful…Even though you are inside, there're sure to be other Gerudo guards somewhere around here…" Suddenly, right as he was in the middle of explaining the dangers of this place to Link, the man's eyes widen in panic and he blurts out "Woo! Watch out!" The Hero of Time, taking the man's warning to heart, swiftly turns around and watches as a Gerudo drops from the ceiling like an assassin and draws out two thick Scimitars, lunging at Link as he pulls out his shield and blocks both blades head on, gritting his teeth as the guard applies pressure onto her swords for a few seconds until realizing that with the shield's thickness and Link pressed against the jail cell there was no way that she would break his defense.

Thus, she leaps back, giving the Hero of Time enough breathing room to stand up straight and pull out his Master Sword into the grip of his left hand. Before engaging his opponent, Link notices that the Gerudo is different appearance wise from the outside guards, with her hair tied up into a crescent ponytail while her clothing is colored red. The Gerudo keeps a defensive stance, her swords pointed in opposite directions of each other so she can be ready for whatever comes her way. However, she didn't know what to expect from this Hylian, just like he didn't know what to expect from a Gerudo. The guard slants her eyelids, gleaming with joy at the prospect of facing this mysterious foe, while Link slants his eyelids to express caution towards the situation he is in the midst of facing.

The Gerudo makes the first move, lunging forward and kneeling down to sweep her blades at the legs of the Hero of Time. Link leaps into the air to avoid the slash, but is unable to strike the Gerudo as she immediately back flips to her original spot and begins to move clockwise around the room while returning to her prior stance. Link moves around in the same direction to keep an eye on his opponent, raising his shield in front of his body to guard the front of his body while holding the Master Sword back in case he has to defend himself from the back. The Gerudo makes another move, somersault with her hands while using her swords as balancers until she is front of the Hero of Time, at which point she kicks off the ground and flies above him to get behind, though Link is more than ready for this action as he spins himself around with his sword extended, nicking the stomach of the Gerudo with the tip of his blade as she lands.

A trickle of blood is drawn from the open cut, causing the Gerudo to flinch in surprise as she lands due to how unexpected the Hylian's maneuver was. Though it wasn't much, the Gerudo had been wounded and lost the advantage she would have had before if the Hylian didn't use that spin attack of his. She couldn't risk a prolonged battle now without increasing the severity of the wound, so after kneeling on the ground with arms spread as Link turns around the Gerudo drops a haze of smoke that obscures her escape, and leaves behind a small key in the shroud that could be used to open the jail cell. The Hero of Time coughs as some of the smoke accidentally enters his mouth, but when he recovers the Gerudo has slipped out of the room with great ease.

Link, not the least bit concerned about the guard's whereabouts, bends down and picks up the key, walking over to the lock and opening the way for the carpenter to escape. The man runs out of the cell merrily and uses both of his arms to shake the Hero of Time's right hand in thanks, saying to him "I can't thank you enough for rescuing me from this prison! My name is Ichiro the carpenter, and you are?" In his merriment Ichiro neglects to keep his voice down, though at least this time Link isn't too worried about it considering he just dealt with the guard of this room. "My name is Link…Say, what were you even doing here?" After being asked that question, the man pulls his arms away and says jovially "Me and my men were really interested in joining their all-female group, but they locked us up like this just because we're men!"

Link raises his eyes and cracks a bit of smile as he says to Ichiro in a joking tone "You knew it was an all-female group and you expected them to welcome you with open arms anyways?" The man, wishing to reply to that remark, chokes on his words at the beginning and stands with mouth agape before thinking about what his fellow Hylian has said and proceeding to say in turn "You know…I was a bit of a fool for thinking otherwise…" Shaking his head and swinging his right hand down beside his body after he had stopped, Ichiro then proclaims to Link "Bah, whatever. I don't care about the Gerudo anymore! They're so rude!" The man turns around and starts to head for the exit when he remembers something important and twists his head to look at the Hero of Time and say to him "By the way, three more of my men are trapped somewhere in this fortress, so please help them escape too!"

With that, Ichiro leaves the area…Assumedly, he managed to sneak past the guards and make it back to his boss, but Link had no intention of following to find out considering he didn't want to get caught and captured again. Thus, the Hero of Time went on his way, making it out the eastern exit and arriving back outside behind the cover of two conveniently placed rectangular crates. With quick, quiet steps Link made his way back into the building by going through another entrance to the left of him, being greeted by a slight incline that led into a hallway that he barely had any vision for. The Hero of Time leaned against the right wall, stepping sideways until he was close enough to the corner to peak around and see if there are any guards patrolling the area. He noticed the hair of one Gerudo around the corner leading to another hallway, but thankfully there were a couple of crates that Link could take cover behind to avoid detection.

Sneaking down the hallway after the Gerudo turns around, the Hero of Time kneels low enough behind the crate that he won't be detected unless the guards actively try to seek him out. As he waits for a chance to move, Link thinks to himself "I wish I had a way to knock these guards out…They may be thieves, but that's not a good enough reason to kill them. Hmm…" The Hero of Time, noting the fact that there have been a lot of crates scattered around the Fortress, ponders just what their contents are and decides to check the closest one out after the guard has turned back around and left his sight. The lid was slightly ajar, meaning that the crate had been opened lately. Inside were a bunch of bottles filled with an odd purple liquid, which causes Link to suspect that he had just come across the stuff the Gerudos used to knock him and Riku out earlier.

Next to the bottles was a blowgun and a pack of darts that the liquid could be poured into. With some quick fingers, the Hero of Time takes out a bottle of liquid along with the darts and blowgun and closes the crate lid without making a sound. He then puts the liquid into the darts, keeping the dosage low in each one so he doesn't cause permanent harm to the Gerudos he plans to aim these at. After making sure he has enough darts, the Hero of Time quickly stands up and loads one of them into the blowgun as the Gerudo guard approaches, and one breath is all it takes for the dart to fly out at inhuman speeds and lodge itself into the guard's neck. Reacting with surprise and pain towards the needle poking into her skin, the Gerudo barely has time to turn towards her attacker before she falls flat onto the ground and releases her grip on her pike.

Link blinks twice as he lifts his head up, surprised at how effective the darts were as he then thinks to himself "This won't do anything against the sword wielding Gerudos more than likely…But this will at least make sneaking around here a little easier." With this in mind, the Hero of Time uses a little less caution as he goes around the corner and uses the blowgun to knock out two more guards, after which he makes his way up the left ramp, winding around until he is outside on the second floor of the Fortress. The Hero of Time then walks to the left to head back in, this time arriving at another jail room after heading down a slight incline. There were two cells in this room, but as far as Link could tell only one of them was inhabited.

The man in the cell to the left calls out to the Hero of Time, showing a total disregard for his stealth with his boisterous voice as he asks him to approach the cell. The man was similar in appearance to the other carpenter, though this guy wears green shorts to differentiate him from the others. Since the guy doesn't know what Link has done up until now, he says the exact same thing his co-worker did until the Hero of Time notices the familiarity of it and stops him to note "Don't worry, I heard it all before…" He then watches as the carpenter's eyes widen in shock, and as he puts the blowgun away and sighs while drawing his Master Sword and shield the Hero of Time says "And now there is a Gerudo behind me…Isn't there?"

Link turns around, his assumption proving correct as another Scimitar wielding Gerudo drops down and readies her swords for battle. This warrior appears less cautious and intrigued than the last one, seeing as she wastes no time in dashing to the left to throw her foe off guard, waiting until he has her eyes on her all the way in order to suddenly sprint across the ground and leap into the air, twirling her blades around with such force that if the Hero of Time didn't react to correctly he'd be swiftly disarmed. Despite how fast the Gerudo moves towards him, Link just as quickly raises his shield and meets the full strength of the guard's swing and kneeling down to brace himself and angle his shield in such a way that when he swiftly rises up he is able to throw the Gerudo away from his body.

The graceful warrior flips around and lands on her feet, retaining her stance as she proceeds to move counterclockwise around the room for a few seconds before lunging forward with both swords held in front of her face, bringing them down upon the Hylian's head. She wasn't planning on going through with the move, her real intention being to see if the man would flinch in fear of his imminent 'death' or stand courageously against his opponent and. When she looks in the man's eyes and sees an unwavering bravery buried within his pupils, the Gerudo knew that she was facing a worthy opponent, and quickly forced her feet onto the ground with her Scimitars only a couple inches away from the front of Link's shield. The Gerudo cracked a sly smile behind her mask as she kneeled down much like the other warrior and said with her eyes looking towards a confused Link "Perhaps another day we can duel…"

The Gerudo leaves behind another smoke shroud and a key, while a befuddled Link wonders just why the two warriors he has fought have left so quickly after engaging him. Picking the key up, the Hero of Time opens the jail cell and lets the carpenter out. The man thanks him joyously, saying to him "Thank you very much kid! My name is Jiro the carpenter!" Already noticing a theme with the names, the Hero of Time asks with a tilt of his head "Ichiro…Jiro…Do all of your names end in '-ro'?" "Naturally! Me and my brothers were all given names based on the order we were born in the family. I was the second born son, so I was given the male prefix of 'Ji' meaning 'two' and the male ending '-ro' meaning 'son'. Anyways, I'm guessing since you mentioned my brother you already rescued him…So if you wouldn't mind rescuing the other two, I'll be sure to reward you later on kid."

Jiro then leaves the fortress, presumably doing the same thing his brother did and making it back to the head carpenter without getting caught. With two down and two to go, the Hero of Time makes his way back the way he came until he returns to that one room where he knocked out two guards, recalling that there was a second incline that he could climb that may lead to another jail cell…And after heading outside, jumping off to the right in order to reach a hidden hallway, and knocking out a couple more guards, Link isn't surprised to find that he is right, and he quickly walks over to the secluded cell in order tell the man inside that he already knows what he is going to say. The carpenter replies with a blunt "How rude!" The Hero of Time was trying to keep the man quiet because it seems that the carpenters voices alert the warriors of his own trespassing, but this time he failed to avert such a problem and he quickly turns around to face the Gerudo that…Doesn't actually show up.

Link is understandably confused by this. "Do they just not have anyone on guard here?" He thinks to himself as he takes a couple cautious steps away from the jail cell. It was far too quiet in the area, and the Hero of Time didn't like it one little bit. After a few seconds of standing around, Link notices a few bits of dust falling in front of his face, suggesting activity on the ceiling. There was a Gerudo in the room, they were just waiting to drop down and catch him completely off-guard…A plan that the warrior didn't realize had failed as she lets go of the ceiling and draws her Scimitars, landing on the ground behind Link and holding one beside his neck while keeping the other held beside her face. She was watching for even the slightest hint of movement from Link, but found herself surprised when her sudden drop didn't get a single reaction out of him.

"Hmmm…" Intrigued by the stoicism of the Hylian, the Gerudo pulls her sword back and leaves the room with the usual display of smoke that the others have done, leaving behind a key and a confused expression on Link's face as he turns around and picks the key up, using it to unlock the jail cell to free the carpenter inside. The man runs out and thanks the Hero of Time, saying to him "I'm so glad you didn't forget about me sir! My name is Shiro the carpenter!" "So you're the third brother?" Link asks, to which the carpenter replies in a quaint tone "Fourth actually. The third is Sabooro, who I imagine from your question is the last one who needs to be rescued…Oh well, I believe you can manage it if you've gotten this far. Farewell, sir!"

After the carpenter has left, the Hero of Time makes his way back out into the open, noticing a final doorway that he hadn't yet gone through on the ledge below him and leaping down in order to enter it. Inside Link goes down two inclines without seeing any guards, and comes across the final jail cell. Inside is Sabooro, the third brother of the carpenters, and Link is quick to rush over to the cell and quiet the man before he lets his presence be known. This time the man doesn't make a single remark, only for the Hero of Time to realize something else…He can't open this jail cell without beating the Gerudo warrior who is guarding it. Letting out an annoyed sigh at the fact that he'd have to deal with another guard that was wasting his time more than anything, the Hero of Time declared "Alright, I know you are there Gerudo…Come out and fight!"

Link turns around and draws his Master Sword and shield once again as the Gerudo warrior falls from the ceiling and draws her Scimitars. This time, however, the warrior puts up a defensive stance, crossing her swords in an 'X' shape in front of her body and standing perfectly still much to Link's surprise. The Gerudo didn't appear to want a direct fight, and though the Hero of Time tries to move around the warrior's body to find a vulnerable spot he is unable to deduce one thanks to the Gerudo constantly moving around so she is looking at Link with each of his passing steps. The Hero of Time knew that using his sword wouldn't help him get through the Gerudo's defense, but he kept it out just because sheathing it would be enough to get the warrior to attack.

Thinking for a bit, Link comes up with an idea to deal with the guard, and quickly moves his obscured left hand towards the pockets of his tunic in order to move a dart into the blowgun without attracting the Gerudo's attention as he moves clockwise around the warrior. After a few seconds of preparation, the Hero of Time picks up the pace, watching as the Gerudo keeps up with his movements at first only to find it harder to keep moving her body around in tune with Link's, and after getting directly behind the Gerudo the Hero of Time takes the blowgun he acquired and shoots a dart right into the back of the warrior's neck. Within seconds the warrior falls to the ground, dropping her swords beside her body as a key falls out of her pants and onto the ground. Link skids to a stop in front of the jail cell and proceeds to walk to the key, kneeling down to pick it up after he puts the blowgun away and using it to open the way to freedom for the last carpenter.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" The man graciously proclaims as he dances his way out of the jail cell. Link, humble to the core, responds to the carpenter with "Not a problem…I'm glad to have helped you and your brothers out." The carpenter Sabooro, shocked to hear that the Hylian has helped his brothers out, says with an over appreciative tone of voice "I simply must give you a reward for helping my brothers out! Hmmm…Oh, I know! How about some advice on tackling the desert that I heard the Gerudo talking about a while ago?" The Hero of Time, remembering that he still has to head into the desert, simply says to the man "Sure." Sabooro explains to Link "They said 'In order to cross the Haunted Wasteland, you'll need the **'eye of truth'. **The Colossus is on the far side of the wasteland'. Now then, I must return to my tent outside this dreadful fortress…So thanks again good sir!"

With that, the last carpenter makes his way out of the fortress, leaving Link to take the man's warning into consideration as he steps forward and thinks to himself "Hmm…Come to think about it, Riku still has the Lens of Truth with him…But I still haven't figured out a way to get to the desert, and I still have to rescue Epona from-" "Well well, you seem to have enjoyed making your way through our fortress, haven't you?" Link hears a familiar voice coming from behind, and with his thoughts now interrupted and his heart having skipped a beat the Hero of Time flips around with sword at the ready and sees as the Gerudo that ordered him and Riku to be thrown in jail is standing before him, only now she is wearing a dark green garb with her hair braided into a drooping ponytail with the assistance of a gemstone behind her scalp.

The Gerudo, now without her mask, can be seen wearing an intrigued, visible smile as she says to the Hero of Time "No need to take up arms this time…I'm not here to fight. Just the opposite…I want to commend you on your fine work here." Link, not believing the Gerudo's words after what has transpired here so far, nonetheless lowers his sword a bit and decides to hear the lady out as he asks her "What do you mean by that?" Chuckling at the lack of trust the Hero of Time is showing her, the Gerudo leans her left knuckles below her chin while using her right arm as a means of support for her elbow before she says to the man standing before her "You know how we Gerudos are a band of thieves, right? Well it takes many traits for one to be an effective thief…"

"You must always be able to deal with the unexpected, you can't ever give in to fear, you must be prepared to stand your ground against any sudden surprises, and you have to be ready to bypass all sorts of defenses…" The Gerudo leans down and looks at the condition of her unconscious comrade, taking the dart out from her neck and examining just how well Link managed to copy the dosage that was used on him and his comrade earlier. With another intrigued chuckle, the lady grips the dry dart into her hand and says with her eyelids shut "I used to think that no man, besides the great Ganondorf, were capable of showing the traits of an effective thief…" Lifting her body up and staring into the eyes of the Hero of Time, the Gerudo then says "But now that I've seen you in action, I am inclined to believe otherwise…"

Link, slowly seeing less reason to mistrust this Gerudo now, sheathes his sword and shield and asks her "So your warriors are meant to test intruders to see how good of a thief they are?" The lady, nodding her head once as she shifts her arms back to the way they were before, replies to the Hero of Time with "Of course. Even though the Gerudos have had somewhat of a thing against men, we still believe in giving them all a fair shot at proving their worth. That's why I had you thrown into that tower, because I wanted to see if you would be capable of making your way out and freeing the men we held prisoner here. You passed the trial, and for that you have earned the respect of all Gerudos here today…If only Nabooru were here to witness this momentous occasion."

Curious to know who this 'Nabooru' person is, since the lady speaks of her with such significance in her voice, Link says the mysterious Gerudo's name is an intrigued tone, which in turn causes the lady to reveal "Nabooru has been the leader of the Gerudos ever since Ganondorf rose in power…She is his second-in-command, and the closest tie we thieves still have to our once prominent King…" The Hero of Time, taking this information rather lightly at the moment, nods his head twice to show that he is listening before asking the Gerudo "So where is Nabooru right now?" "At her headquarters, the Spirit Temple that lies at the very end of the desert." This info caused Link to flinch in surprise, though the reaction isn't noticeable enough for the Gerudo lady to say anything. The Hero of Time recalls how Shiek was heading for the desert, and now that he has learned of this Spirit Temple and the Gerudo inside he can't help but think "Could it be that the last sage is this Nabooru person?"

Unfolding his arms away from his chest, Link asks the Gerudo lady "I was actually on my way to the Spirit Temple before I was asked to free the carpenters. Any chance I can be allowed to traverse the desert?" The Gerudo moves her limbs away from her face and nods her head, saying to him "Of course. Since you passed our trail, you can be officially considered one of us. If you want to enter the desert, all you have to do is show the guard this." The Gerudo reaches into the right pocket of her pants and pulls out a brown slip of paper with a mark of the Gerudos inked onto the front of it, handing it to the Hero of Time while saying to him "Oh yeah, you'll probably want your horse back too…" Link, upon taking the Gerudo Membership card, looking up at the lady and asking "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

The Gerudo draws her arm back and lets out a cheery guffaw, saying to the clearly agitated Hero of Time "Relax, we didn't do anything to that beautiful horse of yours. She's just hanging around our training grounds with the other steeds. We would have likely just let her run free if you didn't end up completing our trial. We may be thieves, but we aren't willing to sink so low as to harm animals. I'll have that horse of yours back where she was in a matter of seconds…Also, you should probably go pick up that young companion of yours in the tower. Glad you could become one of us, Hylian." The Gerudo then leaves, allows Link to put the Membership Card away for the time being and leave the fortress without worrying at all about getting caught ever again.

Once outside, the Hero of Time notices that the sun is rising, meaning that either he took a lot longer inside of the fortress than he expected or that it was close to sunrise when he woke up inside of the tower. After watching as a couple of Gerudos gently guide Epona out in front of the fortress, Link leaps down and goes to her side, accepting her worried neigh and apologizing to her with hesitation "I'm so sorry about this Epona…But its alright now, we won't be separated ever again…" The horse accepts her owner's gracious rub of her mane, purring quietly until Link chooses to hop onto her saddle and grab onto her reins, telling her to make her way over to the tower so they could pick up Riku and Navi.

Once the horse has stood beside said tower, the Hero of Time lifts his head up high and exclaims "HEY RIKU, WAKE UP!" Remembering that his ally was asleep when he had escaped the tower. Without so much as a second passing, the teenage Overlord leaps onto the ledge with Navi by his side and says to the Hero of Time "No need to yell Link, I'm already awake!" Riku leaps down with the fairy flying after him until he lands, at which point she flies by Link's side and admits to her friend "I actually woke him up just a while ago when you were taking too long to return, so I thought we could mount a rescue operation to save you from the fortress." The teenage Overlord folds his arms behind his head and says with a sly glare towards Navi "You're forgetting the part where I told you that Link could handle everything on his own and we should just wait for him to get back."

Navi turns around and mutters in an embarrassed tone "Y-Yeah well…That's a minor issue and you know it Riku!" Riku chuckles at the fairy's response, unfolding his arms away from the back of his head and saying calmly to Link "But seriously, I'm guessing we are on good terms with the Gerudos now?" The Hero of Time reaches into his tunic, pulling the Membership Card he got and swinging it around in the air with his fingers using the previously unmentioned rope tied around the clipped hole at the top. Link smiles as his response, and the teenage Overlord grins in turn and says "That's excellent news…So now what is the plan?" The Hero of Time, gripping the card in his mind, looks on ahead at the gate leading to the desert and says to his ally "Hopefully, we can make our way to the Spirit Temple."

Riding Epona along to the bottom of the watch tower, Link looks up at the Gerudo guard and proclaims "Hello up there!" To grab their attention. The Gerudo, having not yet heard the news about the Hylian's induction in their group, assumes the voice to be a threat and says with her head poking over the side of the tower "What are you doing here intruder?!" Taking the accusation calmly, Link takes the Membership Card and holds it up high enough for the guard to notice it, and with an embarrassed fluster on her face the Gerudo says "…Pardon me, I appear to have been mistaken. Go on ahead to the desert as you please, traveler." Pulling back into the tower, the guard spins the crank around, causing the rope to tug the gate high enough up for Link and Riku to be able to head into the desert.

However, it only takes a few trots for Epona to suddenly rear her front legs into the air and neigh in panic, and Link looks up to see what has gotten his horse so concerned. Covering the Haunted Wastelands is a massive sandstorm, with the only thing visible being a couple of wooden poles with torn red flags waving at the top. Epona couldn't possibly traverse the desert, especially with how delicate her eyes were. The Gerudo guard, witnessing this sandstorm from atop her tower, declares in an aggravated tone of voice "Ugh…Really, another sandstorm? Does this desert not know when to let up a bit? Sorry kid, but your horse is definitely not going to want to head out in these conditions…" Understanding the dangers the sandstorm posed for Epona, Link quickly gets off her and says to calm her down "Don't worry about it Epona…I'm not going to take out into the desert. Just stay here for now and wait for us, I promise you this time around that I won't forget to come pick you up…"

Epona neighs, believing her owner with all of her might as she nudges her face against his chest and quickly turns around afterwards, trotting off back to the Fortress to stay safe until Link can return for her. Saddened by the fact that the two of them had been separated once more, Link nonetheless puts on a straight face and says to Riku "Lets go find Shiek…" Thus the two heroes turn around and make their way into the Haunted Wasteland, braving the full might of the sandstorm as they guide themselves over to the two posts in the distance. The Hero of Time, upon standing between them, can't believe just how hard it was to see where he was going, even though he placed his right arm up to block most of the grains of sand. Riku, on the other hand, appeared to have an easy time traversing the desert, even though he didn't have anything protecting his eyes.

"How are you doing that?" Link asks as stands between the poles and looks on ahead to see if he can find anymore of them. Riku, who was looking back at Gerudo Fortress, turns his head towards Link and says in a puzzled tone "Huh? What do you mean by that?" "You aren't covering your eyes. Does the sandstorm not affect your vision or something?" The teenage Overlord answers Link's inquiry quickly with a shrug of his shoulders while saying "Its kind of like with Death Mountain…My Earth element automatically works to redirect any grains of sand within a 1 centimeter radius of my body, so I can't be blinded by sandstorms." "Well if that's the case, then you should probably take the lead through the desert." Link says as he takes a step back and lets Riku step ahead of him after turning around.

The two heroes make their way through the desert, the teenage Overlord's superior vision in this situation allowing him to see more sets of poles and continue walk through this thick storm until they arrive at a rather strange stone shrine with a hole leading into an underground chamber and a small staircase rising towards the plaque at the top. The shrine is also surrounded by six poles, meaning that this was the end of the path setup by whoever placed this flagged poles around. This clearly wasn't the entrance to the Spirit Temple though, not just because it lacked the majesty of the other temples, but there wasn't a hexagon platform with a mark of the Spirit Medallion painted on top of it. Thus, after scaling to the top of the shrine, Link decides to examine the plaque to see what it says.

"_One with the eye of truth shall be guided to the Spirit Temple by an inviting ghost…" _Remembering what the last carpenter said about the Lens of Truth before, Link immediately turns to Riku as he reaches the top of the shrine and asks him "Hey, you still have the Lens, right?" The teenage Overlord, not knowing why his ally is asking about the Lens, says to him "Yeah I do…Why, do you want it back?" Shaking his head quickly, the Hero of Time points to the plaque and says to his ally "Actually, I'd like you to put it on and see what you can find around this shrine." "Alright, if you think it'll help…" Riku, with a little reluctance, takes the Lens of Truth out of his pocket and puts it on.

Immediately after doing this the teenage Overlord sees a ragged, white cloaked phantom with a black inner body, glowing, mischievous yellow eyes, and an orange lantern dangling from the grip of his thin black arm. The spirit, known by many as a Poe, laughs quietly while moving away from the shrine. Without waiting so much as a second, Riku dashes and leaps off of the shrine, exclaiming to Link "Follow me, quickly!" As the two land back in the desert sands the Poe says in a taunting tone _"I'll be your guide on your way, but coming back, I won't play! I'll show you the only way to go, so follow me and don't be slow!" _The Poe thus guides the two heroes through a winding path through the desert, moving left, right and backwards to seemingly mislead the heroes off the beaten path until they reach a lone set of poles in the distance, at which point the Poe rises up into the air to leave the heroes be as they move through the remainder of the desert and escape the howling sandstorm.

With the grains of sand merely touching their legs as they stand before a single flagged pole, Riku takes off the Lens of Truth and joins Link in looking at their destination. At the end of this rather quaint oasis is a large, female colossus placed above the entrance to a temple buried within a huge rock face. Though at their current distance from the temple, most of these details are barely noticeable to them. "The Spirit Temple…At long last." Link says while letting out a sigh of relief. Wanting desperately to find Shiek now, the Hero of Time sprints across the vast oasis with Riku following close behind not long afterwards. Link notices the hexagon platform, but is befuddled by the fact that Shiek is nowhere in sight despite how he usually shows up by now to teach him a song related to the temple.

Pressing on with his eyelids slanted in concern, the Hero of Time makes his way inside of the Spirit Temple. The entrance room is filled with a foreboding atmosphere, with the floor being made out of a dried, cracked mud and two statues resembling cobra heads looking down at Link and eventually Riku as they enter the temple. The Hero of Time has to immediately draw his Master Sword to cut down two pots that lift up and fly his way. After breaking them, Link looks around the entrance for any sign of Shiek and proclaims the Shiekah's name to try and draw him out of hiding, but to no avail. Thinking that the Shiekah might be waiting deep inside of the temple, Link runs to the top of the nearby staircase and surveys his options for travel. There were two paths, one in the form of a crawlspace that he would only fit through as a child, and another that was blocked off by a large black stone cube with a silver symbol of the Gerudos placed in front of it.

While Link goes for the block and tries to push it, Riku stands in front of the left cobra statue and reads the text to himself _"If you want to proceed to the past, you should return here with the pure heart of a child." _As he hears the Hero of Time continue to exert more effort than necessary to try and make the block budge, Riku leaps over to the other statue and reads it to himself _"If you want to travel to the future, you should return here with the power of silver from the past." _Naturally, the teenage Overlord knew the meaning behind the riddles, but would be unable to say anything about them as Link gives up on the block and peaks past the statue in order to ask him "Hey Riku, think you can move this block up here?" Riku, nodding his head in compliment, leaps up onto the next floor and looks at the block, staring at it with a deep inner focus as he places his right hand forward and tries to push the stone away.

It doesn't take even a second for Riku to realize that his control over the Earth element has been disabled, and he opens his eyelids to say "Its not happening" bluntly to the disappointed Hero of Time. Link lowers his head slightly and his expression becomes sour as he thinks about how they may have completely missed Shiek because of what happened in the Gerudo Fortress. Riku, sensing the anger welling up inside the Hero of Time's mind, says to him "Link, lets head back outside and try to think of a plan. There has to be some way to get further into the Spirit Temple and find Shiek, so we can't just give up yet." Seeing some rationale behind Riku's words, the Hero of Time takes a deep breath in order to calm down and says to his ally "Yeah, you're right…Lets do that."

Thus the two heroes leave through the front entrance to head back out into the oasis, completely unaware of who was watching them on top of the straight stone arch as they exited the Spirit Temple. With a mighty leap, the all-too familiar being lands on the ground before the heroes, taking Link entirely off-guard as he makes his presence known…It was Shiek, who after making sure that his leg bones survived the impact from his sudden fall, stands up straight and looks at the stunned Hero of Time, saying to him as he slowly approaches "Past, present, future…The Master Sword is a ship with which you can sail upstream and downstream through time's river…The port for that ship is in the Temple of Time…To restore the Desert Colossus and enter the Spirit Temple, you must travel back through time's flow…Listen to this Requiem of Spirit…This melody will lead a child back to the desert…"

Without letting Link have so much as a moment to talk back, Shiek pulls out his harp and waits for the Hero of Time to draw out his Ocarina of Time in order to join him in playing one final melody. The two play a slow, relaxing melody that resonates within both of their spirits as each note is echoed within the other's eardrums. But all the while, Riku can't help but feel that they were all being watched, and with a quick glance to the skies above him he sees Rauru observing the heroes in the form of his owl guise Kaepora Gaebora, his claws perched on the fingers of the grand statue until the melody reaches its end, at which point he takes flight through the sunny skies. The teenage Overlord knew why the Sage of Light was here, and as the owl leaves his view unnoticed by either Link or Shiek he thinks to himself "It won't be much longer, Rauru…"

With the Requiem of Spirit now learned, the Hero of Time opts to put the Ocarina away this time instead of holding it triumphantly in front of his face, his mind still more focused on Shiek as he puts his harp away and stands eerily still. Link, more than a little nervous to ask what he was about to ask, extends his right hand out and says to Shiek "Shiek…Tell me…Are you Princess Zelda?" The Shiekah doesn't flinch, his eyelids closing tight as he slowly turns around and begins to walk away. Before the Hero of Time can respond to his departure though, Shiek says to him "Once the final sage has been freed, meet me back at the Temple of Time…There I will tell you the truth about what happened to the fair Princess Zelda…" And with a sudden gust filled with sand obscuring Shiek's body, the mysterious man leaves with those final words stuck forever inside of Link's head.

Once the Hero of Time takes said words into consideration, his motivation skyrockets to unseen extents, and with a quick draw of his Ocarina of Time he puts the instrument in front of his face and says to his ally "Riku, I want you to stay here until I get back. I'm going to head inside of the Spirit Temple of the past to see if I can find something to help us explore it now…We're going to free the last sage, and we are going to take the battle straight to Ganondorf no questions asked afterwards!" Speaking with a great deal of confidence that Riku can't bring himself to ignore, the teenage Overlord nods his head in agreement of Link's plan, and stands back so that once the Hero of Time has finished playing the Song of Time he won't be swept up by the light and carried away to the Temple of Time. With Link having now departed from the oasis for the time being, Riku sits down in a criss-cross position, closing his eyelids as he starts to think about how he is going to handle his inevitable confrontation with Ganondorf…And how he plans to call Rauru out for all that has happened to him throughout this journey up until now…

_Next Time: Sands of Times Past_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Requiem of Spirit I: The Exalted Thief, Nabooru**

The Hero of Time has arrived back in the past after putting the Master Sword in its proper pedestal, his appearance having returned back to that of a young kid and most of his inventory having been replaced with what he had acquired during his youth, just like what happened the last time he had returned to the past. It was a little easier for Link to become re-accustomed to his diminutive size, and after he steps away from the Master Sword he says to his flying fairy companion with a confident smile "You ready to explore the Spirit Temple Navi?" The fairy flaps her wings, moving her body up and down to imitate a head nod as she declares with merriment "Never have I been more ready Link! We only have to free one Sage, and then we can make Ganondorf pay for everything he has done to Hyrule and its people."

The Hero of Time knew that Navi was referring to the Great Deku Tree's demise when she spoke of making Ganondorf pay, but for Link there were more people to avenge than just his adoptive father…And as he realized just how close he was to facing down the King of Evil, Link couldn't help but feel not fear, but rather excitement towards the inevitable conclusion to a journey that has spanned seven years of Hyrule history. With this feeling of excitement rushing through his head, the Hero of Time quickly takes out his Ocarina of Time and plays the Requiem of Spirit that Shiek just taught him, and his and Navi's bodies are carried back to the Desert Colossus via a bronze colored speckle of light.

Having returned to the desert in such a short period of time that it was like he never left at all, Link is greeted by the humid breeze of the oasis blowing across the sandy skies, a thin blanket of sand being blown against his legs as he steps off of the hexagon platform and gazes at the entrance of the Spirit Temple. Despite the differences in time, the place looks exactly the same as it does in the future, meaning that nothing was done to transform its appearance in seven years. Even so, the Hero of Time had to be cautious at all costs, for this desert belonged to the Gerudos and considering that right now he hasn't been made a member of their group he likely wouldn't be able to convince them with the Membership Card if he were to encounter one of them.

With brave spirits, the Hero of Time moves across the desert sands and makes his way inside of the Spirit Temple, the entrance room greeting him with the same flying pots that he saw in the future that he now has to break apart with his Kokiri Sword. Once that was taken care of, Link walks up the staircase and looks towards the crawlspace he saw before, only to immediately draw back behind the cover of the staircase rail as he notices someone standing before the hole. It was a Gerudo who wore elegant white clothing adorned with many jewels, each one more than likely taken from royalty. The Gerudo wore her hair in a drooping ponytail, and she appeared to be without a weapon.

Navi whispers to Link "This Gerudo is different from all the others…What should we do?" The Hero of Time, keeping his eyes on this mysterious Gerudo, says to his fairy companion "We should stay back and wait for her to leave…We can't risk being seen." The Gerudo, after kneeling down in front of the crawlspace, stands up straight with her eyes glared in suspicion as she turns her body around, causing Link to quickly retreat fully behind the railing until the Gerudo speaks out boisterously "I know someone is watching me, so you better come on out before I find you myself!" The young Hero of Time, knowing all too well that his cover was blown, decides not to fight this and slowly walks out from behind the railing, the Gerudo widening her eyes in shock over the fact that such a young child was wandering about in this temple.

"A Hylian kid?" The Gerudo says in a puzzled manner, her eyelids sinking down part way as she glances back at the hole behind her and a grin widens across her face. Link stands a few feet away from the Gerudo as she turns back to look down at him and says to him in a polite, conversing tone "I haven't seen you around, kid…What do you want?" Link, not knowing the motives behind this Gerudo's appearance here, tries to keep his own motives hidden for the time being and merely responds with "I wish to see the temple." His voice is firm, his eyelids slanted to sync well with his tone so the Gerudo doesn't think of him as some weak child. The Gerudo scoffs quietly, saying to the young Hylian with the utmost look of disbelief on her face "You're just a kid! This temple is no place for kids! In fact, how did you even get out here? Ugh…Are those idiots on the bridge slacking off on their jobs again? How hard can it be to keep watch on one straight path suspended over a chasm…"

As the Gerudo sighs and rubs the back of her head as its pulled back and her eyelids are closed in annoyance over what she just thought about, Link continues to glare at her with brimming confidence until the Gerudo bends her head back down and with her right hand grasped around her hip she says "Alright seriously now…What are you doing here?" With this question being forced on him once more, the Hero of Time says this time around "Nothing, really." The Gerudo didn't buy that answer in the slightest, and as she slyly raises her eyebrows up and a grin crosses her face she says "Ok kid, you have nothing to do? What good timing then! Any chance you could do me a favor, kid?"

Link is surprised by how forward the Gerudo is being with that request considering the fact that she knew nothing about him, though as he thought that the Gerudo gave him a suspicious glare and said to him in an interrogative tone "Wait a second, I want to ask you first…you wouldn't happen to be one of Ganondorf's followers, would you?" Link, despite being greatly offended by such an accusation, keeps his cool and replies to the Gerudo with "And what if I am?" The lady stares at the Hylian for an extended period of time afterwards, with Link assuming that she is trying to decide whether she should believe the boy's word or not. But after she is done, she responds to the question in the most unexpected manner…

"Wha-ha-ha!" Bursting into laughter as she rears her head back and rests the palm of her right hand against her forehead, the Gerudo can barely contain said laughter until she brings her head back into place and leans her hand against her hip once more, at which point she says to the un-amused young Hylian "Don't try and act cool, kid. I was just asking! Trust me, I know a kid like you can't be one of Ganondorf's followers." After speaking in a jovial manner to the boy, the Gerudo takes on a more serious expression and says to a more eased Link "Ok, lets cut to the chase here…First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Nabooru of the Gerudo. I'm a lone wolf thief." As the Gerudo reveals her name, Link's eyes widen in surprise as he recalls what the lady who gave him the Membership Card said to him in the future, about how someone named Nabooru was Ganondorf's second-in-command…But considering how the lady thief was acting, Link had literally no reason to believe that she would ever work for the King of Evil willingly.

Nonetheless, the young Hero of Time decided to ask "So you don't work for Ganondorf yourself?" Nabooru quickly gains an irritated expression on her face as she says in disgust "Never in a million years would I work for him. We may both be thieves, but I'm a completely different type of person than Ganondorf…Tell me kid, do you know what Ganondorf has done over the years?" Though Link could easily answer the question posed to him, he would be using information of future events in order to do so, and that just isn't an option. Thus, with quiet lips, the young Hero of Time says "No." Nabooru, fixing her expression to be more neutral, says to the Hylian "Every few nights, Ganondorf would take his followers and steal from both women and children, staining his hands with blood every time he left…"

Link knew that Ganondorf was a cruel, despicable man, but knowing that he committed such atrocities even before he acquired the Triforce of Power brought a grimace of disgust onto his face. Saying nothing about his thoughts, the young Hero of Time continued to listen to Nabooru as she said "A kid like you may not know this, but the Gerudo race consists only of women. Only one man is born every hundred years…Even though our laws say that lone male Gerudo must become our King, I will never bow to such an evil man!" Stating her dislike for the King of Evil with the utmost fury, Nabooru has to take a few seconds afterwards to calm herself down and dispel Ganondorf's name from her thoughts before she returns to her normal pose and says to the young Hylian in a more natural tone of voice "By the way, what is your name, kid?"

"My name is Link." The young Hero of Time says politely. "Link huh?" Nabooru says with a slight hint of intrigue in her voice "What kind of parent gives their kid a weird name is that?" The Gerudo's remark unknowingly offends Link as he gives her a firm, angered glare and Nabooru quickly realizes that she went out of line by saying that. Thus, in order to avoid any further awkwardness she says "Well…Anyways…I want to ask you a favor…Will you go through this tiny hole behind me and get a treasure that's inside?" Link, knowing all too well that Nabooru is a thief, finds himself wondering just what type of treasure she is wanting him to collect, and to get some elaboration he asks "What kind of treasure?" Nabooru, wanting full compliance from the young Hylian, replies to him with "The treasure is the Silver Gauntlets. If you equip them, you can easily push and pull very heavy things!"

Link, recalling the trouble he had in the future with that one black stone, glances behind himself and sees that said block existed in the past. However, Nabooru notices the kid's glance and is quick to say to him "No, no, no, kid!" Link turns back around to the insistent Nabooru as she says to him "Don't even think about taking this treasure for yourself! The Silver Gauntlets are too big for a little kid like you to equip! I want you to be a good little boy and give them to me!" Link however, being too brave for his own good sometimes, says defiantly to Nabooru "And what if I don't give them to you?" The lady Gerudo lets out an exasperated sigh as she finds herself getting greatly annoyed at having to argue with this child over this matter, but nonetheless she says to Link "Look kid, Ganondorf and his minions have been using the Spirit Temple as a hideout lately. Only the Silver Gauntlets will allow me to sneak deep into the temple and mess up their plans by stealing all of their treasure!"

"Hmmm…" Link thinks to himself for a moment about this whole situation. As he does though, Nabooru decides to bring up a rather fine point "Look kid. You hate Ganondorf, I hate Ganondorf. So if you help me out here, we'll be able to strike a critical blow to his operations. There's literally no downside to this for you. So how about it? Will you do it?" The Hero of Time drops his current train of thought and says to Nabooru after being convinced by her words "Alright, you have a deal." Cheerfully chuckling at the young Hylian's agreement, Nabooru says "Thanks, kid! You and I, let's give Ganondorf and his followers a big surprise, shall we? And if you can successfully get the Silver Gauntlets…I'll do something great for you…" With a light wink of her right eyelid that leaves Link completely dumbfounded, Nabooru steps off to the side so the young Hylian can get down to business.

Once on the other side of the crawlspace, the young Hero of Time is greeted by two ricocheting metal tops. One guards the staircase in front of him and the other is moving around on the platform beyond that. After waiting for a safe passage to the staircase, Link notices that there is another crawlspace behind a motionless statue and two large doors sealed off by iron bars. Thus in order to make some progress through those doors, Link tries to move for the crawlspace. However as he does so, the statue in front of him comes to life, attempting to attack him by leaping across the ground and using its girth as a weapon to knock the young traveler down and then crush him. But because of prior experiences the young Hero of Time isn't too surprised by the statue's sudden movements and he leaps off to the side, reaching into his small tunic and pulling out a lit bomb that he flings at the statue and watches as it blows up on it.

But after experiencing the full blunt force of that explosion, the statue turns red and begins to spin around rapidly as it homes in on Link and leaps towards him in an act of suicidal desperation. Alas though, the young Hero of Time is able to dodge the explosion with a few well-timed back flips, his body landing in front of the leftmost locked door as the statue explodes. A ring fills the air as Link hears the iron bars on both doors in the room fly right up into the ceiling. "Huh…So that solves that problem." He says with a sigh of relief. The young Hero of Time then decided to go through the door behind him, entering a straight forward room with a pit of green fire lying off the ledge and a steel mesh bridge poking towards the ceiling on the other side of the pit. There was a crystal on the other side that Link could likely activate using his boomerang, but before he gets the chance a Stalfos drops down form the ceiling and surprises the young Hylian.

With his current stature, the Stalfos was now three times taller than Link, and that made him quickly realize that he would have to use cunning to defeat this creature instead of straight up confronting him in battle. Nonetheless, the young Hero of Time drew his sword to make the Stalfos believe that he was fighting, causing the boney warrior to let out an amused laugh as he places his shield up in front of him to taunt the little warrior into taking his best shot, a decision he would soon come to regret as after staring the Stalfos down, the young Hero of Time reaches into his tunic and pulls out another lit bomb that is immediately thrown at the skeleton warrior's shield. The force of the explosion blows the Stalfos back across the floor, the boney backs of his feet leaning off the edge as he pulls his shield away and growls at how sneaky that kid actually was.

But before he gets a chance to do anything, Link charges forward and swings at the Stalfos with his Kokirir Sword, the skeleton warrior instinctively reacting by raising his own blade in defense, not realizing that even with the kid's strength that single blow would be more than enough to unbalance him and send his body hurtling off the edge of the platform and into the endless abyss below. As he falls, the being responsible for the fire, a giant bat-winged skull that goes by the name of a 'Green Bubble' despite having no bubbly elements to its appearance, flies out of the gap and causes the grounded Link to flinch in surprise briefly before he becomes more concerned with the fact that the creature is blocking the path of his boomerang as it flies left and right across the air.

The young Hero of Time sheathes his sword and pulls out his slingshot, using the wooden pellets packed in one of his bags as projectiles to pelt the Green Bubble twice, once to dispel his flames and another time to crack the creature apart and causes its fractured form to fall into the gap. With that momentary distraction out of the way the young Hero of Time takes out his wooden boomerang and flings it to the left, allowing it to arch through the air until it strikes the crystal on the other side and causes it to rebound into his hand after said crystal light up and the bridge falls down onto the ground beside him, giving him the means necessary to cross over to the other side and enter the door to the next room.

Immediately after stepping a few feet beyond the door, it becomes sealed with iron bars, meaning that Link was trapped in this room unless he finds a way to undo said bars. It didn't help that a couple more steps and a glance to the right revealed another blocked off door. There were no switches as far as the eye can see save for another crystal one to the right, but when struck by Link's sword all that happened was that a large fire was created in the center of the room…Which accidentally killed the eerie, floating dog-headed statue flying nearby and in turn undid the iron bars on the door in front of him. The Hero of Time didn't even realize what just occurred behind him, his unaware mind instantly assuming that hitting the switch was all that he needed to do to escape.

Thus without thinking about what happened, the young Hero of Time went through the next door and found himself in front of a large steel mesh wall with four silver Rupees hanging around waiting for Link to collect them by climbing around the mesh. But first, the young Hylian had to take his slingshot and take care of the Keese flying around the room, though one shot accidentally ended up hitting a Wallmaster that was descending from the ceiling, bringing the creature onto the ground and making him vulnerable to one cleaving sword cut from Link's blade. With all creatures killed, the young Hero of Time climbed the wall and collected the Rupees, realizing that there was one missing and quickly turning his head around to notice the last time hidden sneakily behind the lone torch.

In order to acquire the last Rupee, Link drops off the mesh and walks over to it without any fuss. And now with all the silver currency collected part of the silver mesh drops down to create a bridge to the other side of the room, where two unlit torches lie on both sides of the front edge of the bridge. Figuring out the puzzle due to his close proximity with the torch, Link reaches into his tunic and pulls out a Deku Stick that was literally as tall as his body yet manages to defy the laws of mass in order to fit into his clothing. With it, he ignites the tip by bringing it close to the lit torch and carried it across the bridge so he can light both steel torches, and with that done a small chest drops from the ceiling and lands on the regal square of red carpet back on the other side of the bridge. Going back across in order to open it after tossing the Deku Stick into the pit, the young Link acquires a silver key and puts it into his tunic.

With these few rooms dealt with in a timely manner, the young Hero of Time moves back to the first room and chooses now to go through the crawlspace, finding on the other side a large lock crossing an even larger door that he is able to unlock with the key he just acquired. On the other side of the now open door is a large, climbable rock surface that has a couple Skulltuas crawling about. Of course, Link has his trusty Slingshot in hand ready to deal with those spidery creatures, and in a matter of seconds he has plenty of space to climb up to the top of the wall and arrive at an average sized room with a crescent of thick sand lying to the right of him. The other things of note in this room are the iron bars once again blocking off Link's passage to another door, a creepy looking sun with a face lying on the ground, another crystal switch up on a high ledge, and a bumpy rock face with a slight crack in it.

Link couldn't quite explain it, but he felt that the crystal switch was a waste of time to try and activate so he instead decided that he would see what he could do about the crack in the rock face. He couldn't throw a regular bomb that high up…But there was another type of bomb in his possession that could easily do the job for him. Reaching into his tunic, the young Hero of Time says to his fairy companion "I knew these would come in handy someday…" and pulls out a blue, mouse shaped explosive device that he holds above his head with both of his hands. The object is known as a Bombchu, which has a timer built into it that tells it when it's the right time to explode in case it doesn't hit a solid enough object.

And the best part about this Bombchu? It can scale walls. Which is exactly the sort of thing Link needs in an bomb right now. Thus after dropping the Bombchu onto the ground and letting it ride along the floor for a few feet, the young Hero of Time turns around and stretches his arms above his head as the bomb scales the wall and explodes on the loose boulder next to the crack in the rock face, breaking it apart and unleashing a ray of sunshine onto the sunny plate on the floor. The radials of the plate spin around as the eyes open and a…Surprisingly creepy grin appears on its face. But with this influx of sunlight channeling itself into the panel the iron bars on the door in front of Link rise into the ceiling to give him passage into the next room.

Compared to the somewhat small rooms he has traveled through thus far, this next room is likely the biggest single chambered room he has been in throughout his travels both past and future. There are multiple staircases spread about the room, with a couple long platforms high up that appear to contain chests that Link can't reach quite yet, and a large statue of a meditating Gerudo lying in the center of the room. There was also another one of those small statues to the left of Link, but this one didn't move like the one he encountered earlier. In fact, it appears as though the young Hero of Time would need to push this statue onto a blue switch off of the ledge in order to advance further into the Spirit Temple.

After hearing a shifting of iron bars above him, the young Hero of Time climbs the staircase until he reaches an open door that he enters through, at which point he encounters yet another staircase with a spiral incline, only this area is barely lit by the torches sticking out from both walls. Thankfully the staircase was short, but it led to another door that sealed up behind Link as he entered the next room. This room has more Silver Rupees on ledges, a slight maze-like appearance in the room, three Beamos statues, a few silver tops, a beam of light poking through a window at the opposite end of the room, and another sealed off door lying off to the left. With the assistance of his Bombchus Link deals with the Beamos, removing all the truly annoying obstacles in this room and allowing the young Hero of Time a chance to leap around the platforms and pick up the silver Rupees.

Once he is done with this, a single torch is lit. Link walks over to said torch and uses another Deku Stick to carry a flame around the room and light a couple more torches to summon forth a small chest on the crest of a t-shaped platform near the locked doorway. After dropping the burning stick, the young Hero of Time climbs the platform and opens the chest to acquire a silver key…Unfortunately, he still hadn't found a way to deal with the iron bars in this room. Thus after tucking the key away in his pockets Link decides to check the room again for anything he might have missed the first time around. He goes for the silver colored blocks tucked in a corner behind the zigzag shaped ledge, and with a flinch of his eyes he notices another sun panel on top of one of the stones.

Getting an idea in his head, Link moves to the side of the bottom left stone and uses as much strength as he can to pull it back, leaving enough of a gap between that stone and the bottom right one so he can pull it back and give enough of an opening for the young Hylian to pull the block with the sun plate along the ground and place it right underneath the sunlight. The bright rays of the sun light the panel up, causing it to change much like the previous one did and in turn open the way to the next room. All that lies beyond this unlocked door is a rising staircase and another door that requires Link's recently acquired key in order to be opened. Navi feels a bit uneasy though as her young friend readies himself to head into the next room, and she says "Something doesn't feel right…Be careful up ahead Link."

Taking Navi's concerns into consideration, the young Hero of Time enters the next room and finds himself standing on top of an incredibly thin brown rug that is bent at a ninety degree angle a few feet away and leads on past the many pillars off to the sides until it ends in front of a patch of regal red carpet. On the center of that patch is a large, iron armor sitting down on top of a stone throne, and behind it lies an arched doorway sealed off by iron bars. "…Hmmm…" Link was suspicious of the armor's presence here, figuring that it should be standing upright instead of placed on the throne in such a pose. The large axe gripped in its hands also looked like it didn't belong to a perfectly still statue. Walking up to the throne nice and slow, the young Hero of Time takes out his sword and taps the front of the statue's kneecaps.

In an instant the statue grumbles, awaking from its long slumber as Link widens his mouth in shock and leaps back to avoid the swift swing of the statue's axe as it rises up from its glorious throne. "What is an Iron Knuckle doing all the way out here?!" Navi proclaims in panic as Link keeps his Kokiri Sword held tightly. "What is an Iron Knuckle?" The young Hero of Time asks, to which Navi replies with "It is a heavily armored warrior said to be capable of leveling mountains…If you had the Master Sword I'd say you'd be able to put up a better fight but as it stands now…" Though the fairy gave a concerned warning, Link didn't feel too worried about fighting the Iron Knuckle, mainly because while the armored creature had the strength of thousands it moved incredibly slow across the ground, which means all the young Hero of Time had to do was be swift on his feet and he'd eventually come up with a plan to deal with the Iron Knuckle.

As the armored warrior approaches the young Hero of Time leaps back again, dodging the furious swing of the double-headed axe that moves in a wide, circular motion across the air in front of the warrior and instantly breaks apart the two pillars beside him. "Well that's never a good sign…" Link thinks to himself with his eyes widened as the chunks from the broken pillar crash onto the ground and create separate clouds of rock dust that shroud the sides of the Iron Knuckle as he straightens his axe in front of his chest and continues to walk towards the young Hero of Time, his body never once taking pause as it advances like an unstoppable tank. But even if you spoke such a comparison to Link a hundred times over, he would never back down. His courage was more than enough to keep him fighting against even the most fearsome of monsters, and that's why this Iron Knuckle was not going to last very long against this Hylian child…

With quick hands Link sheathes his sword and reaches into his tunic to pull out a normal bomb, lighting it up and throwing it at the armored warrior just a second before detonation. The Iron Knuckle is covered by the seething flames from the explosion, most of it reaching into his hollow helmet and heating the insides to the point that the shell gains a somewhat reddish glow. From there Link takes out another bomb and throws it at the Iron Knuckle, only for the bulky warrior to force it to explode with a mighty swing of his axe. However, with the momentum from his swing keeping the axe suspended in the air to the side, Link is able to take out a Bombchu and put it on the ground so it can travel along the floor and explode at the vulnerable feet of the Iron Knuckle.

This explosion crawls up into the armor, heating it up even more and causing it to begin to melt. There wasn't an outlet strong enough to deposit the heat built up inside of the Iron Knuckle's body, and because of this all Link had to do at this point was take another Bomb and throw it into the pained face of the armored warrior and simply stand back and watch as enough heat is built up inside of the Iron Knuckle to melt it down to a puddle of iron goop. The axe, untouched by the heat in the final moments of its owner, falls to the ground beside the goop, clinking twice as the iron bars blocking the door ahead rise up into the ceiling. Link grins, proud of himself for conquering such a mighty foe as Navi says to him "Well so much for my worries…"

The young Hero of Time turns to his fairy and smiles, saying nothing in response as the two of them move around the puddle that was once an Iron Knuckle and entering the door behind the throne, heading through a dark passage until they are greeted by the blinding light from the outdoors. With Link having to hold his hand up in front of his face, he is unable to see what is directly in front of him. Thus the familiar voice that speaks to him ends up catching him entirely off-guard… "Hey, what's up, Link?" With a regal tone and a quiet "coo", the owl known as Kaepora Gaebora pokes his head forward and watches as Link moves his arm away from the front of his face and pulls his body back in complete shock. Finding himself speechless after gazing into the blue eyes of this majestic owl, Link stands in place as Kaepora, who is perched on top of the left fingers of the Desert Colossus, says to him in a jovial tone "Are you surprise to see me?"

"A long time in this world is almost nothing to you, is it? How mysterious! Even I thought that the tales of a boy who could travel back and forth through time was merely a legend. Link…You have fully matured as an adult. From now on, the future of all the people in Hyrule is on your shoulders…Maybe its not my time anymore. So I shall impart onto you my last bit of advice…" Spreading his wings and flapping them as he lifts off into the air, Kaepora says to Link with grave importance "Two witches inhabit this temple. In order to destroy them, turn their own magic power against them! Hoo hoot! I need not repeat this to you…But I will continue to watch over you…Hoo hoo hoo hoot!" And thus the majestic owl flies off into the morning sky, leaving Link completely unaware of the fact that this entire time Kaepora Gaebora has been the wise Sage of Light, Rauru…

With the owl now gone though, the young Hero of Time tilts his head downward and rubs his chin while muttering quietly "Two witches huh?" Navi then bumps against the top of Link's head twice, pointing her body forward after grabbing his attention while saying to him "That has to be the chest where the Silver Gauntlets are! Lets hurry up and grab them so Nabooru can do her thing!" Link, nodding his head in agreement, runs forward and opens the big chest right up, reaching his little body inside and quickly pulling it out after acquiring the Silver Gauntlets, which he holds triumphantly above his hands like he has with every other item he has grabbed thus far.

_Link found the __**Silver Gauntlets!**__ Its really redundant to have the name here considering you already know what this is, but whatever. If you were able to wear them now, you would feel power in your arms, the power to lift big things with (A)! (Wait, you are just now referencing an N64 button? Seriously?) But anyways…These gauntlets won't fit a kid…Plus, you promised to give them to Nabooru. You should keep your word…_

But as Link lowers his arms and puts the Silver Gauntlets inside of his tunic, he hears a frightened scream coming from down below, followed by a familiar voice exclaiming "Hey! Where are you taking me?!" Running to the edge of the Colossus' hand, the young Hero of Time pokes his head over as the voice proclaims in pain "Yeearggh! Let me go!" Near the rocky arch in front of the Spirit Temple Link could see two witches flying around in circles on their broomsticks, their hairstyles and clothing representing both fire and ice…But the young Hero of Time doesn't focus on them for long as he notices in the center of their flying figures lies a partially submerged Nabooru, who is being dragged into the endless sands by a dark magic vortex. "You, you finds! Ganondorf's accursed minions!" Nabooru declares as she struggles to free herself from the vortex.

With her body failing to fight back against the might of the witch's magic, Nabooru lifts her right hand into the air and pokes her head up to see Link standing atop the Colossus' hand, declaring to him with a great deal of urgency "Link! Get out of here! Now! These witches! They are using black magic on me!" Nabooru's voice slowly becomes muffled out as her body is completely dragged into the sand, and the vortex responsible for dragging her vanished without a trace. Though it was futile to do so, the young Hero of Time thrusts his right hand through the air and exclaims Nabooru's name. However, this will prove to be an unwise decision, as the two witches turn their attention towards Link, the icy witch Kotake saying to her sister Koume "Hmmm? What is this brat doing wandering around our temple?"

"Becoming another one of our prisoners, that's what he is doing sister!" Koume declares with a mischievous cackle afterwards. The two witches laugh in unison as they quickly ascend through the air towards Link, the panicking young Hero of Time having to be reminded by a yelling Navi "LINK! GET THE OCARINA OUT NOW!" Before he actually pulls out the instrument and quickly plays the Song of Time on it to transport himself back to the Temple of Time before the witches can get close enough to ensnare him with their magic. Floating in place above the Colossus' hand with bewildered looks on their faces, the witches turn towards each other and frantically thrust their arms beside their heads as they start bickering about what just happened, an argument that would go on for hours as the young Hero of Time returns to the future in an instant…

_Next Time: Deeper into the Sanctuary_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Requiem of Spirit II: The Sun's Gaze**

Back in the future, Riku opens his eyelids up wide and gazes forward as he picks himself up off the ground and thinks in his head "Alright…Got everything all lined up in my head for when I confront Rauru…Now I just need to-" Before he finishes his sentence, the warm gust of the humid desert blows from the left of the teenage Overlord, ruffling his clothing and hair as he turns to the hexagon platform off in the distance and sees Link emerging from a sphere of light, his body kneeling against the ground in an instant as he painfully clutches his chest and a cold sweat trickles down the side of his face. Riku dashes over to the Hero of Time and kneels down to get a good look at Link's appearance. The Hylian wasn't scarred in the slightest, so the cause of his look of exasperation was currently unknown to Riku.

"Hey Link, snap out of it!" The teenage Overlord snaps his fingers sharply to break the Hero of Time's entranced gaze, bringing Link back to reality and allowing him to turn and blink twice at his ally before he rises to his feet and is met with Riku's question of "Are you ok?" The teenage Overlord stands back up and listens in as Link says to him "I-I made it to the Temple of Time at just the right moment…Ganondorf was launching his attack on Hyrule with the help of the Triforce of Power…Had I waited too long to return, he may have found me…" That explanation tells Riku part of the reason why Link looked partially panicked, but there had to be more to it than that…Sensing this, the teenage Overlord asks "What else happened while you were in the past?"

Link, turning to face his ally all the way, tells him about his trip to the Spirit Temple seven years ago, explaining his encounter with Nabooru down to the very last detail while also mentioning what happened to her after he obtained the Silver Gauntlets. After bringing up that particular equipment, the Hero of Time lifts his right arm up to show Riku that he has put them on, the teenage Overlord gazing at this reflection on the backside until the hand is lowered and he can have a moment to say to Link "So you said those witches kidnapped Nabooru? Do you think they might be in this temple and she is still their prisoner?" The Hero of Time, thinking back to what was said to him in the Gerudo Fortress, realizes that he never relayed any of this information to his ally because of his focus being put elsewhere.

With a removal of his right hand from his chin Link says to Riku "From what I heard from the other Gerudos…Nabooru is currently Ganondorf's second-in-command, and her base of operations is the Spirit Temple. But that can't be right…The person I saw in the past would never swear allegiance to Ganondorf even though it was the law of her people to do so." A scowl crosses Riku's face as Link finishes speaking, his eyelids sealing temporarily as he lets out a light sigh and says to the Hero of Time "That means she was more than likely brainwashed by the witches…" Though that was a hard thing for Link to accept as the truth at first, the Hero of Time didn't think there was any other way to explain what was going on with Nabooru currently. "…Then we need to free her from the witches' control." Link firmly proclaims as he slants his eyebrows courageously and turns towards the Spirit Temple with another humid gale sweeping past him as he gazes at the Colossus.

Thus the heroes went back inside the temple itself, Link once again having to cut down two flying pots with his eyes looking puzzled at the fact that they had spawned back so quickly after the last time he had entered in this time period. Once he sheathed his blade the Hero of Time and his teenage companion went up the staircase and moved towards the black stone that plagued them once before. With his new Silver Gauntlets, Link is able to press his hands against the face of the stone and push it along the ground, inching it farther through the tunnel until it reaches a point where there is no ground for it to be on and it falls into a slot big enough for it to fill. Now that one obstacle was done with, the two heroes found themselves inside of a room that nearly mirrored appearance-wise the first other room Link had went to in the past, only with a Beamos in the center and the crawlspace replaced with a large locked door.

Remembering how dispatching the enemies in the last room undid the iron bars, Link quickly pulled out a bomb and flung it at the Beamos, blowing its body apart and causing the head to fall to the ground and subsequently explode. However, the irons bars aren't undone as he expected, causing slight confusion as he moves up the staircase and tries to look around for any enemies he may have missed hiding in the corners. It wasn't an enemy he needed to look for though, but rather a crystal switch dangling from the ceiling that Riku glances towards with his right knuckles leaning curiously against his chin before he moves it away and points upward, saying to Link "One arrow up there should do the trick."

Turning towards the switch and reaching into his tunic to pull out a bow and arrow, the Hero of Time gives a quick, thankful glance to Riku before letting go of the quiver so the arrow flies through and pokes the switch to activate it and lower the iron bars. With that done the two heroes head through the right doorway, entering a long hallway that contained a curved pit where three boulders rolled back and forth, their rocky masses occasionally blocking arched 'windows' carved into the walls where a couple Silver Rupees lie. Naturally, the heroes would have to navigate the room and pick up the Rupees in order to do away with the iron bars guarding the door at the end of the room. There was a blue block in the center-left 'window' that Link would ordinarily play the Song of Time in front of, but seeing as all of the Silver Rupees were in plain sight he avoided it and went through the next door after the iron bars raised into the doorway.

In this small, secluded room, all the Hero of Time had to do was kick a small chest to open its lid and allow him to sweep up a silver key needed to open the locked door at the beginning of the temple. But before they went back, Link turned to Riku and said with a slight smile "It feels like we are going through this place quickly so far." The teenage Overlord tilted his head to the right as he folded his arms front of his chest and said "You're just used to every type of puzzle these places have thrown at you by now." Chuckling happily at what his ally just said, Link hesitantly admits "Yeah…I suppose you're right. Not to mention you've helped me through some of these puzzles, Riku." The Hero of Time lifts his head up as his face expresses appreciation for the teenage Overlord's help.

However, Riku's eyelids sink as guilt plagues his mind over the fact that he feels Link shouldn't have had to say that to him. In response to the comment though, the teenage Overlord says reluctantly "Thank you Link…" He wanted to tell the Hero of Time that he could have solved all the puzzles by himself, but that would require either a great deal of insistence or he would have to reveal to Link the truth about what he knew. Neither could be done, so it was a matter best left alone now. Riku brought a smile back onto his face, and the two heroes traveled back to the room where the key was required to advance. Entering the next room after the lock was undone, the two heroes found themselves in a small hallway with a layer of solidified mud off to the right underneath a lit basket torch.

Two pots fly up and force Link to draw his shield to block them, only for his shield to then get devoured by a Like-Like that swiftly falls from the ceiling and lunges it gaping maw forward, wrapping its slimy innards around the metal coating and throwing the shield into its gullet. The Like-Like then pulls back, only to be met by the furious cleaving of Link's Master Sword, which damages the creature enough to cause it to regurgitate the shield before it melts away into nothingness. With that distraction out of the way Riku quickly tries to use his power of flame to dry off all of the Like-Like's slime only to nothing to emerge from his palms. The teenage Overlord then realizes that he forgot to check and see which powers he has available to him, and goes through them quickly to find that he only has Wind and Grass in his possession.

Slanting his eyebrows in disappointment and anger, Riku says to Link "Well looks like I'm not going to be offering much this temple…" Before directing his hands towards the shield and using a strong gale to blow the slime right off, allowing the Hero of Time to pick it back up nice and clean as he says to his ally "Like a handicap has hurt you all the other times." He was trying to lighten Riku's spirits, not realizing just who his scorn was directed towards…Something that the teenage Overlord would continue to avoid letting Link on about even as the journey of their comes to an end with Ganondorf's defeat. Riku thanks Link for having faith in him, and the two continue on down the hallway and come across a jagged wall that they can climb with great ease.

At the top is a small room with sunlight poking through the open window near the top of the wall to the left of them. Said light is reflected off of a mirrored surface wrapped around the 'mouth' of a small cobra statue that has handles attached to the sides of the bottom to allow whoever approaches it to spin it around, more than likely to reflect the sunlight onto one of the four sun panels on the walls around the room. There was also another set of iron bars blocking the way to the next room, meaning that the only way to advance was probably to guess what panel is the right one, seeing as Riku's attempt to decipher the answer with the Lens of Truth ended in failure as all of the panels appeared solid. However, he does notice a Wallmaster descending, and points Link in the right direction so he can deal with both it and its smaller spawn before they get to work on the puzzle.

Link, with assistance from the Silver Gauntlets, turns to the statue clockwise, the first two panels the sunlight touches burning away and dropping a couple of chests on the ground that didn't serve any purpose besides showing that the heroes were wrong in their decisions. The third panel Link directs the light onto glows brightly, the face opening creepily as the iron bars shift into the ceiling and the two heroes are able to move on. The next room is familiar to Link, having been here once before when he came to this temple in the past. It was the large room with the out of reach ledges and a looming, feminine statue with serpentine clothing standing in the back of the area. "Back here huh?" The Hero of Time notes with familiarity in his voice, his eyes turning towards the statue as his ally asks him "You came through here before?"

Link nods his head, pointing one finger towards the statue and noting his suspicions of the monuments importance by saying to Riku "Call it a hunch…But I think the witches are hiding in a room behind the statue." The teenage Overlord tilts his head as he looks at the statue and says in an oblivious tone of voice "It does look suspicious, doesn't it?" Pulling his arm back, the Hero of Time then says to Riku "We'll come back here later…I don't think we can deal with what's beyond the statue yet." Nodding his head in agreement, the teenage Overlord joins Link as they climb the stairs and come across a door locked by chains. "Don't tell me we forgot a key…" Link says as he scratches the back of his head and begins to retrace his steps through the Spirit Temple. As he does this he turns around and walks away from the door, his head pointed down as Riku says to him "We couldn't have missed anything…Those chests in that last room were just there to distract us from solving the puzzle."

As Link takes Riku's words into consideration he looks down past the railing and notices something curious on the left hand of the statue. Despite the rest of the architecture having a clearly Gerudo origin, there was a mark of the Triforce imprinted onto the palm of the statue. Knowing exactly what to do in this situation, Link leaps onto the railing and then jumps forward much to Riku's surprise, and with a swift landing on top of the Triforce mark the Hero of Time pulls out his Ocarina and plays Zelda's Lullaby. With the melody recognized a small chest drops onto the statue's opposite hand, and after putting his instrument away Link uses his Longshot to cross over to the hand by latching the hook onto the side of the chest. Once in front of said chest the Hero of Time opens it and pulls out a small key, leaping down onto the ground and crossing back to the left side of the room so he can use his Longshot on a mark on the ceiling above and then climb the stairs to join back up with Riku, who only blinks his eyelids twice after witnessing all that Link had just done in rapid succession.

Once the lock is undone nearby, the two heroes go through the doorway and ascend a small, inclined yet curved stairway lit up by torches on the walls until they go through the next door, which brings them to a square room with a gap that could only be traversed via the cross-shaped platform above it. There is a Beamos on the left side of said platform, and an Anubis rises out of the bottom right pocket. On the northern point is a switch, which probably undoes the iron bars on the doorway to the north…Or it could be another room where Link has to defeat all enemies in order to progress. Vaguely remembering that the Anubis is weak to fire from his encounter with one in the past, Link steps onto the center of the cross and performs the steps needed to summon Din's Fire, which not only incinerates the first Anubis and the second one that emerges from the rightmost pit, but it also destroys the Beamos completely. The iron bars are undone without either hero having to worry about the switch…But as Link and Riku cross over to the door they just opened the Hero of Time notices from the corner of his eye a door locked by chains that they will likely have to go through later on.

But for now they head through the door that is unlocked for them, entering a rectangular room with four statues surrounding a pressure switch. Link moves towards one of the statues to push it onto the switch, only for it to come to life with a reddish glow as it leaps towards the Hero of Time to ram him onto the ground. However, Link smirks and decides to use the creatures movements to his advantage, purposely guiding the statue over to the switch so it can push it down for him and undo the iron bars on the door behind him. The statue then stops moving because Link isn't close enough to make it go aggressive, and the heroes enter the door to head into a room with a tall ascending staircase. Reminded of what happened the last time he went up this type of staircase, Link readies his Master Sword and shield and begins to climb with Riku cautiously walking behind him.

The two of them enter the next room through the door at the top, emerging in a pillared throne room as the way back is sealed off once more by iron bars. On the throne itself is another Iron Knuckle, though seeing as this is Riku's first time encountering the armored warrior in real life he reacts with surprise and says to Link to "Be careful" to which the Hero of Time nods his head and says with an appreciative smile "I'll be fine…But thanks for the concern." Link then approaches the Iron Knuckle and taps it with a swing of his Master Sword, the blade clinking against the handle of his axe and causing the armored warrior to stir to life. Pulling itself off from of its seat, the Iron Knuckle stomps the ground and growls in anger, shaking the ground and breaking apart the throne behind it with a single thrust of his left fist behind him.

The armored warrior then goes into battle against the Hero of Time, swinging his axe violently around his body and shattering two of the pillars beside him as Link leaps back to avoid the weapon. As the Iron Knuckle is recovering from the force of his swing, Link leaps forward and brings his sword down with both hands, cleaving a mighty scar through the front of the warrior's armor as the recoil from his blow knocks the Hero of Time a couple feet back before he lands, thus positioning him well enough that he doesn't have to worry about the axe touching his body when the warrior recovers from the momentum of his prior attack. The Iron Knuckle is annoyed by the scar imprinted into his armor, but merely growls in response before taking his axe and tossing in out in front of his body.

The weapon spins around multiple times as it moves towards Link, the Hero of Time being forced to somersault to the left in order to dodge the attack as Riku in turn leaps back to do the same. The Iron Knuckle, having failed to notice the teenage Overlord before and feeling positive that he wouldn't be able to strike Link on a return trip, swing his right arm to the left of himself in order to make the axe curve towards Riku, the head of the weapon cutting through two pillars in the process before the teenage Overlord notices it and says towards the warrior with a disbelieving sigh preceding it "You are really going to involve me in this?" Though he would have preferred to let Link handle this monster alone, Riku is instead forced to take out his sword and drape it in front of his body, relying on most of his strength in order to keep the axe at bay in front of himself as the Iron Knuckle exerts most of his magical control over his weapon to try and press around the sword and cut down the teenage Overlord from the side.

Riku merely guides his sword around, keeping it pointed down as he stops the axe with each passing second as a standing Link realizes the opportunity Riku's unintended distraction has given him. With one brave charge, the Hero of Time takes his sword and plunges it straight into the scar he inflicted on the Iron Knuckle earlier, this time around he pierces through the armor completely, digging deep into some sort of squishy material and causing the proud warrior to immediately go silent as his hand limps up and the axe he controlled falls to the ground with a single echoing clink being released from it. As Link pulls his sword out he notices blood on the tip of his sword for a few surprising seconds before the purity of his blade removes the stain from its presence. "What the…" The Hero of Time mutters out as the Iron Knuckle falls to its knees and disappears in a blaze of spirit blue fire.

Riku dispels his sword and walks up to Link as the iron bars are undone in this room, and with a tilt of his head he gazes into the Hylian's puzzled face as he quickly sheathes his sword and says to his ally "I drew blood from the Iron Knuckle…" He was clearly disturbed by this information, and to Riku that was quite understandable. But the teenage Overlord actually didn't have an answer to the Hero of Time's question, only a rather unfortunate assumption… "Could it be that the witches are putting Gerudos inside of these armors and forcing them to do their bidding?" "Why would they do that to their own-" Link is about to make a rebuttal, but then he remembers what the witches did to Nabooru in the past and quickly comes to terms with the fact that Ganondorf might just be twisted enough to have his minions brainwash his own people just to serve his own diabolical ends…But this doesn't make it easy on Link as he thinks about what has happened to Nabooru for the last seven years…

Riku, seeing the Hero of Time's distress, quickly snaps his fingers to break his train of thought and he says to him in turn "Come on Link stay focused! We need to get moving and stop these witches and hopefully save Nabooru from their grasp." Reminded of what still needs to be done, Link nods his head and says to Riku "Yeah, we shouldn't stop anymore…Thanks for keeping me on track." The Hero of Time then turns around so the two of them can move on through the open door behind what was once a mighty throne, taking only one glance back towards where the Iron Knuckle once stood and thinking to himself "Nabooru better not have been in that armor…" Before looking away and continuing through the passage until they have both arrived outside the Spirit Temple, with a large chest placed on top of the right hand of the Colossus waiting patiently for Link to open it. The Hero of Time reaches inside after popping the lid up, standing up tall and triumphant as he holds a ruby-rimmed shield with a sapphire reflective surface on the front of it that contains a mark of the Gerudo at the top.

_Link got the __**Mirror Shield! **__The shield's polished surface can reflect light or energy! Press [R] to use it! (Ok seriously, why are you just now referencing the exact dialogue for when Link collects items? Stop screwing with me here writer.)_

This new shield is equipped to Link's back, with the old one being put away into his tunic without any explanation given as usual. With this new item acquired, the heroes traverse the rooms they've gone through before until they return to the room with the four statues, noticing that there is a beam of light being projected onto the ground through one of the windows and there is also a sun panel on the wall to the right of said sunlight. Utilizing his new shield by kneeling down and placing it in front of him, the Hero of Time captures the sun's reflection on the front of the shield and points it at the panel, causing it to activate and undo the iron bars on the door to the left of him. The heroes go through it and find a small chest with another silver key, and with it they head back to the room with the cross-platform so they can unlock the way to the next area.

This room contains two Beamos standing on top of small rocky pedestals along with a large wall that had one climbable segment that kept being shuffled behind the spike lined sides of the walls. However, instead of dealing with what would likely have been a very time consuming puzzle, Link takes out his Longshot and uses it to latch onto the topmost segment as it reaches the center of the wall, climbing up the ledge only to be greeted by two Beamos guarding an open door. After putting his prior tool away the Hero of Time uses a couple bombs to dispose of the Beamos, and right as their bodies explode glorious Riku flies up behind Link and says to him "Good job noticing that shortcut."

Nodding his head out of thanks for the praise, Link leads the way onward to the next room, which after a small stairway drops the heroes off in front of a iron bar blocked door that has a Triforce mark on the ground in front of it. Using his Ocarina to play Zelda's Lullaby, Link manages to open the way to the next room, which is a secluded chamber filled with Torch Slugs and false doors. After using the Master Sword to kill the slugs Link takes out a bomb and tosses it at a random door to the north. When the fake door explode the Hero of Time sees a golden eye switch that requires his bow and arrow, which he takes out and fires immediately. With the eyelid of the switch shut a block of ice is summoned in front of the one at the very back of the room above the ring of fire that protects the chest containing the Boss Key, and using his Longshot allows Link to get on top of said block and leap on top of the switch to dispels the flames.

Once he drops back down and opens the chest to collect the key Link turns to Riku and says "It really is becoming too natural for me, isn't it?" Referring back to what his ally had said earlier on in the temple. The teenage Overlord only smiles in response, the two heroes then traveling out of the room and climbing the remainder of the stairs in order to advance to the next room. In this place is a giant silver mirror suspend off a wall covered in Hieroglyphs, with four thick chains draping from holes in the wall and ceiling that keep a rocky platform suspended on level with the floor. To the left of the heroes is a set of iron bars, and behind those is a crystal switch that Link can just barely reach with the tip of his Master Sword. There is also another cobra statue with a mirror wrapped around its mouth beyond said switch, meaning that another puzzle involving sunlight would come their way soon.

After hitting the switch the iron bars on the nearby door go up, allowing the heroes to enter another room. This place has a more cavernous appearance to it, with the walls composed entirely out of rubble and barely any light keeping the place lit save for the beam of sunlight poking through the arched passage to the left. The two heroes go in the direction of the light with Link turning the statue around to redirect the light towards a mound of rocks that the Hero of Time ends up blowing up with a single bomb. On the other side of the rock is the cobra statue that Link saw earlier, which he quickly turns in order to redirect the sunlight towards the large mirror on the other side of the bars. Thus with some quick backtracking the heroes drop down onto the large platform so Link can use the Mirror Shield to move the light towards the sun panel to the left of him, causing it to activate and force the chains to lower the platform down through the floor.

Once it has finished its rather slow descent the heroes find themselves in front of the face of the large feminine statue, and a cold chill blows past the heroes' faces. "Wait a second…" Quickly deducing where the chill is coming from, Link holds his Mirror Shield in front of his body and directs the sunlight into the face of the statue, keeping it in place as it begins to crack apart until the entirety of it is broken off from the rest of the statue, revealing a circular grating that hides a large door with a demonic golden lock that the Boss Key can fit inside of. "See? I told you the witches were likely behind the statue." The Hero of Time says in reference to the familiar lock as he puts his Mirror Shield away. With a brave look on his face, Link then says to his ally "…Lets do our best, for Nabooru's sake." The two heroes then leap in front of the grating, which rises up and allows them both free passage to undo the golden lock and make their way into the room behind…

_Next Time: The Last of Ganondorf's Followers_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Requiem of Spirit Final: Sorceress Sisters, Twinrova**

The heroes enter the area behind the golden lock, finding themselves in a barely lit throne room with only a couple pillars keeping the place structurally sound. Standing before a black, rusted Iron Knuckle that sits on the seat of the throne are two hunched witches. As Link draws his sword and shield and Riku summons forth his own blade, the witch with an icy motif creaks her head to the right until she glances at the heroes, saying to her sister of fire "Ho ho ho! Looks like someone is here, Koume." Koume turns her head, matching the pose of her sister perfectly as she giggles and says in turn "Hee Hee Hee! Looks like it, Kotake!" The Hero of Time is not amused by the witches' carefree attitude, and with his eyebrows slanting in anger he proclaims "Where is Nabooru?!"

The two witches, straightening the bodies out in front of the heroes, use their magic to summon forth their brooms below their feet and make themselves levitate into the air, their right hands waving around as Kotake says to the bold Hero of Time "What an outrageous fellow he is, to intrude so boldly into our Temple and demand the location of one of our prisoners…Ho ho ho!" Koume, with a mischievous grin on her face, says to her sister "Perhaps we should teach these two intruders a lesson! Hee hee hee!" Turning around to face the Iron Knuckle, the witches use their magic to give the armor a silver coat of paint and make the crimson cloths underneath become more prominent. Koume then declares "Oh loyal minion!" as the two witches fly beside the revitalized Iron Knuckle, with Kotake then commanding to the armored warrior as it stirs to life "Destroy this intruder on our behalf!" With multiple spins through the air, the witches shrink down and disappear in a puff of fire and ice respectively…

The Iron Knuckle then rises to its feet, growling tiredly as it stretches its arms into the air and realizes a rather important detail…He is missing his axe. Thus, with a snap of his right fingers beside his helmet the armored warrior summons forth his glistening silver axe into the grasp of his hand, lowering it down in front of his body so he can wrap both of his hands around the handle and step forth to oppose the heroes. Link grits his teeth in an angered scowl, reluctantly taking up his Master Sword and running forth to fight the Iron Knuckle. Riku notices the hesitation on the Hero of Time's face before he engages the armored warrior, and can sense the disdain radiating around him as he takes the first swing of his blade in order to clash against the heavy silver of his opponent's axe.

The teenage Overlord knew just why Link wasn't as willing to fight this Iron Knuckle as he was the other two. Both of them had sensed something amiss after the witches quickly avoided the subject of Nabooru, and Link especially became uneasy after seeing the Iron Knuckle come to life at the witches' command. But the Hero of Time couldn't let his concerns get the best of him, especially after how far he has come along his journey, so it was up to Riku to take some of the pressure off of Link by engaging the Iron Knuckle while his mind is currently more focused than his. Thus with a quick sprint across the ground the teenage Overlord goes beside Link as the armored warrior swings his axe around in a loop around his body, and with a check of his left shoulder to knock a hesitant Link out of the way of the weapon Riku takes his blade and holds it down with all of his mental strength being used to keep the axe from getting anywhere closer to his body.

Once the axe is pulled back towards the Iron Knuckle's chest and he stands motionless in place, Riku turns his head to the left and says quickly in an apologetic tone to the Hero of Time as he slowly picks himself off the ground "Sorry Link, but you can't fight this battle." The Hylian rises to his feet and declares to his ally "Riku, this Iron Knuckle might just be-" "I know who you believe it is…" The teenage Overlord says as he is forced to throw his sword up and guard another swing of the Iron Knuckle's axe, taking advantage of the gap created to swing at the warrior's armor, the thick of his blade cutting a diagonal scar between both shoulder plates as he casually continues to say to Link "I suspect that it is her as well…"

The Hero of Time's eyes widen in surprise after his ally says that to him, and he realizes that Riku understands far too well what his concerns are after he turns his head towards him with a smile on his face before he states "I will not kill this Iron Knuckle…So just save your strength for when we confront the witches." With his head turning back to face the armored warrior and a brave expression adorned on his face, the teenage Overlord leaps back and the axe is swung against the ground, the room trembling in the wake of the weapon's strength while Riku merely stands strong and waits for the tremors to end so he can sprint forward undeterred by the shaky ground, taking his blade and swinging it upward to slice through from the bottom of the armor until he nearly touches the cut he made before, at which point he pulls his sword back and leaps away, accepting the angered growl of the Iron Knuckle with open ears as he swings his sword off to the side and extends his left arm in front of his body, saying to the proud warrior "You'll be free soon enough…"

The ground begins to rumble again, and in a matter of seconds a series of vines thick enough to reach into the scars carved into the Iron Knuckle's armor erupt from beside the teenage Overlord. The vines wave around at the boy's command, with Riku narrowing his vision while proclaiming to his opponent "Just don't make this difficult for either of us!" With a single command the vines lash forward, a couple of them trying to move below the range of the axe and bury themselves into the scar only to be cut down by a downward swipe from the Iron Knuckle. But as they are cut apart at the heads the vines merely flop around on the ground for a few seconds before their lost segments regenerate back into place, and with the armored warrior unaware of this fact due to his intense focus towards the other vines flying through the air he is taken completely off-guard when the scar in his armor is penetrated by the two vines on the ground.

Now that the opening move has been finished, Riku commands the two vines to press against the sides of the scar in opposite directions, working against the density of the armor itself in order to forcibly pry it right off. Meanwhile, the teenage Overlord directs four vines to wrap around the Iron Knuckle's arms while one goes for the helmet. With their fibrous forms wrapping around the limbs, the vines completely prevent the Iron Knuckle from using its weapon while the ones that have dug into the scar are nearing the end of their duty as evidenced by the slowly increasing sound of creaking metal. After a few more seconds the armor is broken in half, the two vines responsible for this event taking said halves and flinging them against the walls before shriveling up into nothingness. Meanwhile, the remaining vines pull the helmet and gauntlets off of the body, throwing both them and the axe away to reveal the true identity of the Iron Knuckle…

Just as the two heroes suspected…It was Nabooru. With the pieces of armor that bound her to the witches' control disintegrating in plumes of grey fire, the proud Gerudo falls to her knees in shock, her hands acting as her only other means of support as her body trembles from the pain brought on by being so quickly released from the hold the witch's had on her. Link stares at Nabooru in disbelief, his mind stirring with anger as he thinks about the horrible things the witches did to her over the last seven years while she was under their control. The proud Gerudo lifts her head up, her eyes widened in shock as she grumbles out through her lips in an exhausted tone "Unnnh…Where am I…?"

Before the question could be answered by the heroes, the icy witch Kotake returns to the room in a puff of ice flakes, her body spinning around on her broom before she turns towards Nabooru and says to her sister while the Gerudo glares at her in shock as she begins to try and get on her feet "Well, well…Looks like she's back to normal…Koume…" The witch's voice reeked of disappointment, but at the same time there was a callous tone to it that neither Riku or Link wished to hear. Koume then appears, and Nabooru turns her head to face the fiery witch as she says to her sister "She's just a little girl, but she commands a lot of respect among the Gerudo, Kotake…" Kotake cackles mischievously as she leans forward on her broom and extends her right arm out, saying to her sister "Maybe we should make her work for the great Ganondorf for a little while longer! Ho ho ho!"

Nabooru, upon hearing the witch's suggestions, is met with the traumatizing echoes of the screams that came from the many people she was forced to slay in Ganondorf's name as she was brainwashed the last seven years, her hands shaking as the undeniably pain of those forced memories cause her to try and muffle out the screams by placing those stained hands of hers against the sides of her head, and she screams out to the callous witches "No! I will never again work for Ganondorf! You monsters cannot force me to do it again!" Nabooru was on the verge of tears, the once brave demeanor of this proud Gerudo now completely broken thanks to the cruel acts of the witches. But they didn't care about Nabooru's wishes, and with their hands held up beside their heads with magic glowing at their fingertips Kotake proclaims "You will work for him again! Disloyalty from you shall not be tolerated!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The witches stop their magic upon hearing the angered proclamation of the Hero of Time, who rushes to Nabooru's side and kneels down to give her something hopeful to look at in order to help her current state of trauma. The proud Gerudo, at first not recognizing Link due to his change in physique and age, widens her eyes in shock after noticing the Silver Gauntlets adorned around his hands and whispers to the Hylian "You're…Link?" Nodding his head in response, Link offers his hand to assist Nabooru in rising to her feet, after which the Gerudo runs behind the Hero of Time in order to catch her breath while Link says to the witches with his angered glare returned "You will not brainwash Nabooru ever again. If you attempt it, I will kill you both where you stand."

The witches, in a surprising show of submission, lower their arms to grasp the front of their brooms before Koume says to Link "Very well…We will not brainwash Nabooru again." The proud Gerudo couldn't at first believe that the witches were so easily giving her up, especially after all the effort they put into keeping her under their control for the past seven years. This news got Nabooru's hopes up, making her assume that it would perfectly safe for her to leave this room after Link turns his head to the left and nudges for her to go on…But then the Kotake says in a sly tone "However…" and with a swift raise of their fingers the two fingers unleash a combined spell of fire and ice, sending the orbs hurtling towards the fleeing Nabooru until they both collide into the body of the panicked Gerudo at the same time, and after a flash of burning magic nothing remains of Nabooru besides of a sparkle of brown light that rises up and fades away in a near instance.

Link stands with his eyes frozen in disbelief, his mouth stuttering out of failure to say anything after what he just witnessed as he gazes towards where Nabooru once stood and falls to his knees, his inability to save yet another ally from death proving to be too much of a toll for the Hero of Time to handle as the witches cackle behind him, Kotake mocking the Hylian's fool hearted efforts with "Now now…We held up our end. We didn't brainwash her…But if she was just going to be useless to us, then it is only for the best that she die by our hands. You are more than welcome to join her though…There is always occupancy in the afterlife for your types." Link's hands tremble, his grip tightening around the handle of the Master Sword before he rises to his feet, sheathes his blade and sword, and quickly draws out his bow and arrow as he turns towards the callous Kotake and releases his grip on the quiver with eyes widened in fury.

The arrow flies through the air, the point nearly grazing the side of the witch's face as she swings herself to the right in order to dodge it. As the arrow makes its mark on the wall behind her, Kotake looks at the furious Hero of Time and says to him in a mocking manner "Does her death truly upset you? You only knew her for a few minutes and yet you attack us as if we had murdered your best friend in the world!" Link, slanting his eyebrows in anger to glare Kotake down while slowly readying another arrow in his bow, responds calmly to the witch with "It doesn't matter how long I knew her for. What mattered was what she believed in…She saw Ganondorf for the evil man he truly was and chose to defy the laws of her people in order to follows her beliefs…And you wiped all of that away to use her as a puppet, and then killed her once you couldn't keep her under your control…"

Raising his bow into the air, Link pulls back on the quiver as far as possible and with tip aimed at the center of Kotake's head the Hero of Time proclaims "But Nabooru will not have died in vain…You two monsters will perish for what you did to her!" Releasing his grip on the arrow, Link watches as the witches quickly vanish in puffs of elemental smoke, their voices echoing across the room as the arrow is pinned to the wall "Ho ho ho! You believe you are strong enough to do anything to us? You have a lot of spunk, Hero of Time…So its time for you to prove that you can follow through on your bravado…" The door behind the throne opens, and Kotake finishes her sentence off with "Come face us both, and see just why we are Ganondorf's most trusted followers!"

Once the witches have said their last words for now, Link slowly puts his bow away and dispels his scowl, and Riku walks up to him not a moment later in order to say in an empathetic tone "Link…I'm sorry that Nabooru died…But we-I mean you have to defeat the witches and awaken the final Sage so Ganondorf can be stopped." The teenage Overlord's sudden change in pronouns causes Link to turn and face him, asking in a puzzled tone "What do you mean by 'you'?" Riku says with a gesture of his right hand "I don't want to have anything to do with your battle against the witches. Its like what you said when we first met about me not having a personal stake in the battle against Ganondorf…Except now replace him with these witches. It wouldn't feel right at all if I interfered in this battle knowing how desperately you want to avenge Nabooru…But do know that if things get too difficult for you, I will jump in and offer some assistance."

With his heartfelt explanation, Riku steps back a moment and lets Link take in what was said, the Hero of Time nodding his head and saying with a thankful smile "I'll definitely take care of the witches before this is all said and done…And then Ganondorf will be all that's left." "And I will be fighting by your side when that moment comes." Riku says in turn. As Link turns his head forward, he glances to the left for a moment and says "You know, now that I think about it…Not of all my friends have died throughout this journey." The teenage Overlord, failing to see what the Hero of Time means, tilts his head and asks in a pondering tone "What do you mean?" With a smile on his face as his fairy companion flutters out from behind his cap, Link says to her and Riku "I still have you and Navi by my side…And somewhere out there, Princess Zelda is waiting for us to find her."

The teenage Overlord flinches in shock upon hearing Link call him a friend, and as the Hero of Time walks off Riku pulls his arms away from his chest and whispers to himself with a look of utter disbelief on his face "Wow…" All this time Riku assumed that Link thought of him as nothing more than a simple ally that followed him around, but it was more than likely because of a lack of acknowledgement on the matter that made Riku assume that. The teenage Overlord didn't really want to put too much time into thinking about this though, especially once Link turns back at him and asks "Are you coming?" Riku nods his head and runs forward to catch up with Link so the two of them can advance down the hallway behind the throne. With walls lined with torches leading the way to the final room of the Spirit Temple, the two heroes emerge in a dimly lit room that has a large, sandstone arena in the very center of it where the witches are supposedly waiting for their opponent to arrive. On each side of this arena is a small pillar with the same aesthetics as the main platform, and the walls of the room are lined with hieroglyphics.

Climbing the rock face on the corner in front of him, Link steps up to the top of the arena and draws his Master Sword and Mirror Shield, walking to the center of the room and looking around suspiciously at the fact that the two witches are nowhere to be found at the moment. It isn't until a few seconds later that Kotake's cackle echoes across the room and she says to her sister "What a fool this kid is…To challenge us here today. Instead of victory, he will merely become a sacrifice to the great Ganondorf!" On the pillar to the left of Link, a waving seal of ice emerges, while on the right a wavy seal of fire appears. The witches Kotake and Koume appear from the seals that best represent their elements, and Koume says to the Hero of Time "With my flame, I will burn you to the bone!" while Kotake proclaims "With my frost, I will freeze you to your soul!" After rising up away from the seals the two witches cast a spell on themselves, covering their bodies in a puff of smoke as their hair becomes that of fire and ice respectively, with their bodies and brooms growing three times in size.

After an echoing laugh from the two of them in unison, the witches fly towards the central platform and glide around the edge for a few seconds before moving above the Hero of Time and grabbing onto their right hands, their unified forms twirling around as the room becomes somewhat brighter. Then the witches split off, moving back above the pillars they emerged from to commence battle with Link as Riku watches from below. Koume quickly departs from her platform and keeps her eyes on the Hero of Time while Kotake points her right hand into the air while holding the bristles of her broom off to the left. A pentagram seal surrounded by a ring of icy puffs of fog emerges before her wrinkled fingers, a cold chill falling upon the room as the seal shrinks until a point where it is completely gone, after which the bristles on Kotake's broom are completely frozen over in a solidified crystal of ice.

Taking this newly empowered broom of hers in front of her body, Kotake unleashes a beam of pure frost from the front of the crystal that homes in on Link and forces the Hero of Time to leap to the left in order to escape the might of the attack. As he rolls along the ground though, Link looks up and catches a glimpse of Koume jabbing her finger into the air in order to fire a series of flaming projectiles that rain down towards the Hero of Time. Getting on his knees and using his Mirror Shield as a means of protection, Link is surprised when instead of feeling the fireballs impact with his shield they are absorbed into the reflective surface of it and a seething heat radiates up into the air for three seconds before the fire magic is exhausted from the shield. But that short period of time was more than enough to get the Hero of Time's attention as he got to his feet and thought to himself "So this shield can store their magic?"

Before Link can come up with a strategy on the spot for this new development, he feels another cold chill creeping up his spine and quickly turns around to see Kotake releasing another beam of ice his way. Getting to his knees and pointing his Mirror Shield in front of his body as a means of testing a theory, Link watches as the frost is reflected off of the surface of his shield and sent back towards Kotake herself. The witch doesn't do anything to dodge the attack, instead letting the beam strike the front of her face and do nothing to her wrinkly appearance by the time the magic she has built up has ended. And because of Link's current stance Koume has a perfect chance to prime her own magic behind him, her broom igniting with crackling flames before she aims it at the Hero of Time's back in preparation to roast him alive.

Link hears the flames from behind, his body straightening upright as he turns towards Koume and puts his shield away temporarily while reaching into his tunic to pull out his bow and an arrow to use against the witches. After taking just a second to raise his weapon for battle, the Hero of Time thinks to himself "Wait a second…What good is this going to do against a fire witch?" In fact, Link swiftly realizes that most of his usual arsenal wouldn't be effective against his opponents. His Longshot wouldn't be able to hit them while they are moving and it would be used against him while they were still in the air, his arrows would either be frozen or burned up, and his Bombs would be stopped just the same. His only hope for survival would be to try and redirect the beams at the opposite witch with his Mirror Shield, a feat that would prove easy to perform right now thanks to Kotake floating above him at that very moment.

Thus after putting his bow away the Hero of Time leaps back and kneels down, taking his Mirror Shield in front of him right as Kotake begins to wave her hand in the air to utilize more of her magic right as Koume fires her beam of crisping fire through the air towards Link. Once the beam collides with the reflective surface of the shield the Hero of Time points it upward so the beam scorches the bottom of Kotake's body and causes her to screech in pain as her undersides become utterly cooked, her planned spell being thrown in Koume's direction accidentally, and as the fiery witch lowers her broom and looks up at her sister her face is met with a hail of thick icy needles that melt upon contact with the heat around her body and splash her with a cold drench.

Link leaps out of the way as Kotake quickly pounds against the ground to put out the flames, her many impacts shaking the place up and nearly throwing the Hero of Time off balance until she ends her rampage. Once back in the air Kotake is met with the furious berating of her sister, who madly flails her arms into the air while proclaiming "What is the big idea hitting me with ice?!" The witch of ice is flabbergasted at her sister's bold accusation, the implication of her words making Kotake believe that Koume thought she launched ice at her on purpose. Thus with her arms flailing about in an equal amount of anger the Kotake turns her sister's words against her and proclaims "You have quite the nerve to accuse me of that when you are the one who torched my undergarments!"

For the next few seconds the two sisters bicker at each other like angry children, completely confusing the Hero of Time as he stands still and blinks a few times in disbelief before realizing he has a perfect chance now to strike one of the two witches in the head with an arrow. Thus after placing the Mirror Shield on his back Link takes out a bow and arrow once more and aims it at the head of Koume, who after a quick glance away from her sister reminds her "Hey Kotake…Don't forget that we still have a certain child to deal with…" As Kotake tilts her head down and notices Link's pulled back hand, a sly grin appears on her face to show a return to their focus in the battle, and Link pushes the arrow in and puts both it and the bow away as his eyes widen a bit out of concern for what was about to happen next…Especially after Koume grins and says to her sister "Ok, let's get serious now, Kotake!"

The icy witch says in turn as the two of them fly to the center of the arena and spin around rapidly, their bodies joining close together in unison as Kotake says "Oh, ok, Koume!" The two witches begin to shrink down, their bodies converting into a swirling mixture of smoke created from fire and ice as they exclaim in triumphant unison "Kotake and Koume's Double Dynamite Attack!" After a rough of explosion of pure magic a new being emerges from the remnants of frost and flames. She is the combined form of the two witches, a gigantic Gerudo sorceress with the youthful body the rest of her kin share along with two glistening ponytails that were taken from the backs of the two witches heads acting as her hair. This sorceress carries in her detached sleeved arms the broomsticks of her split selves, their forms having now been converted into wands of pure fire and ice magic. This is Twinrova, the true identity of the infamous Gerudo witches…And with her appearance marks a sudden shift in the climate of the room from calm to pressurized, the magical energy exerted from this sorceress creating a thin purple fog that makes it harder for Riku to see what is going on from below.

Link's mouth becomes agape from shock at the sudden appearance of this mightier foe, but Twinrova's first reaction to her rebirth is to give a taunting wink of her left eyelashes towards the Hero of Time. After that brief gesture Twinrova flies around the arena, moving above the platform behind Link as he turns to follow her movements, watching as the sorceress lifts her icy wand into the air and brandishes it down to unleash a wintry torrent that the Hero of Time barely catches in the reflective surface of his Mirror Shield. The shield begins to glow icy blue upon storing some of the ice magic from Twinrova, a slight chill spreading out from it as Link looks up and notices the sorceress lifting her wand of fire into the air to unleash a hellish fireball towards Link. The Hero of Time doesn't keep his shield up, since he figures that the flames will ruin the charge built up into his shield, and with a quick leap back he dodges the fireball's impact and the ensuing wave of flame that spreads out from it.

With the two spells out of the way, Twinrova moves towards the pillar to the left of Link and readies her ice wand again while the Hero of Time has just finished landing on the ground. Link turns his head and gasps in panic as the witch flings yet another spell of raw ice his way. Using quick dexterity the Hero of Time places the Mirror Shield on his left arm and holds it out in order to capture more magical energy into the reflective surface, the shield itself now pulsating a bright icy blue, though the sorceress doesn't appear concerned by this matter in the slightest, seeing as she raises her wand again and sends another shot of frost the Hylian's way. Link captures this energy just like he did the other two, but this time around all that has been built up inside of the shield until this point is released in the form of a frosty stream that strikes Twinrova unexpectedly and binds her body in an immobilizing shell of thin ice that brings her to the top of the pillar and leaves her defenseless.

Link blinks twice in surprise at what just happened, but chooses to take full advantage of this moment and quickly rushes forward along the arena until he can leap across to the pillar Twinrova is on and bring his sword down the front of the sorceress' body. The tip of the blade cuts down the sorceress' clothing, digging into her skin and leaving a huge bleeding scar on her appearance. It was a rather violent move on the Hero of Time's part, but considering what the witches the sorceress is composed of have done it was merely poetic justice on his end. After finishing his attack Link turns around and leaps back onto the arena, for the ice binding Twinrova has melted and she is now left free to rise up and continue the battle against the Hero of Time on her terms once more.

But first off was the matter of her scar. It wasn't bleeding profusely at the moment, but too much physical exertion would threaten to make her bleed even more. Thus while floating above the pillar she was on before, Twinrova raised both of her staffs into the air and clicked them together, the ensuing meshing of fire and ice creating a negative chain reaction that shatters the elemental effects at the end of the wands and bringing forth from the skies a hellish eruption of small meteors made out of a combination of both frost and flames. The atmosphere of the room rapidly shifts between hot and cold as the bombardment occurs, the air being alternatively shrouded by a red or blue fog depending on which temperature remains dominant at the time. As the meteors collide with the ground around him, Link is put on high alert for his own safety as he is forced to jump, run, and back flip around in order to avoid being struck, all the while trying to keep his shield at the ready in hopes of absorbing the magical properties of three of them so he can attack Twinrova again.

But this time the sorceress is more receptive to Link's plans, and uses a swathe of her right hand through the air to direct one of the icy meteors towards the Hero of Time and strike him with enough force to encase him in a prison of pure ice, and that is met with the searing heat of a flaming meteors that Link was planning to take into his Mirror Shield. Though Link is free of the ice prison, he is blown back by the impact of the flaming meteor, a few flames attaching themselves to the sleeves of his tunic as he falls on his back at the northern edge of the arena. Riku, watching from below, swings his arms out to the side and widens his eyes in panic as he notices a swarm of meteors falling down around the Hero of Time, with one flaming one larger than the rest going straight towards his fallen body. "LINK, GET UP!" The teenage Overlord proclaims in a panic as he tries to thrust his arms through the air to grasp onto the meteors with his powers, but remembers right away that he cannot control either ice or fire.

With his eyes staring blankly towards his hands before looking back over towards the periled Hero of Time, and saying in a quiet yet nervous tone "No…" As the teenage Overlord looks on and believes that his friend will be unable to make it through this battle, he is suddenly shocked when Link gets onto his feet seconds before the meteor strikes him down, and with a quick somersault the Hero of Time makes it to the other side of the ring of meteors before they impact with the ground. Once there he runs to the center to the get out of the explosion radius, and without a single care in the world towards the remainder of the meteors Link spins around and flings his Mirror Shield out like a discus towards Twinrova.

It seems like a weird move on his part at first, but as the shield spins around in the air it flies underneath the pathway of three flaming meteors, the reflective surface absorbing the magical energy within itself without losing any of its built up momentum until the moment where the shield is fully charged. At that important juncture, the shield strikes Twinrova right in the gut, an outward burst of seething flames lashes out against the sorceress, not only dispelling the meteor spell she had summoned and knocking her off the platform and onto the ground behind, but also causing the Mirror Shield to be launched back over to Link. As the Gerudo sorceress crashes against the ground, the entire room trembles, and the Hero of Time lets out a relieved sigh as he puts his shield away.

But it doesn't take long for Twinrova to rise up off the ground and hover behind the pillar she was thrown from, her body looking rather battered and burned after all that the Hero of Time had done to her. She was panting, not out of pain, but rather out of exasperation towards that last move Link had performed. "Unbelievable…You purposely made yourself vulnerable so I wouldn't notice you scanning the area for three of my meteors lined up in a row…So when you finally made your move I didn't have enough time to redirect my ice meteors towards your accursed Mirror Shield…" As the sorceress speaks in a youthful echo of Kotake and Koume's voices, Twinrova thinks to herself with her teeth grit in pain "I can't afford to keep fighting him…We'll both die at this rate…" From the way her thoughts were voiced, it was clear that it was Kotake in control of the mind at that moment.

Weighing in her options, Twinrova decides that it would be better if she lived than if died, and with the last ounce of magic she can muster in this body she splits herself onto into her two separate halves. Both witches are now riding their broomsticks, and Koume says to her sister with her head turned in confusion "Well what are you expecting us to do now?! We can't just abandon the Spirit Temple, Ganondorf will have our heads for it even though we are his surrogate mothers!" Kotake quietly explains to her angered sister "I never said we would report back to him! Look, we will simply have to hide out in Labrynna until everything blows over…So rev up your broomstick and lets get out of here!" With their bodies pointed towards the ceiling, Kotake unleashes a blast of frigid cold in order to break a hole into the roof.

But before they depart, Link exclaims to them "Where do you think you're going?! We aren't finished yet!" Koume turns towards the angry Hero of Time and tells him "Oh boo-hoo. Yes we are done kid! Its not like either you or your little Elemental Overlord friend there can do anything to stop our departure now! So just awaken your sage and go on your way! See you never again, Hero of Time!" With the two witches' cackling maniacally, they depart through the hole in the roof, leaving Link to stand alone on the arena before he falls to his knees with a defeated expression on his face as he punches the ground in front of him with enough force to crack it. Riku leaps onto the arena, his eyes glaring up towards the hole in the ceiling as he curses Rauru in his head for inhibiting his powers at this very moment, especially since Koume and Kotake will now go unpunished for their crimes.

In fact, it is that very lack of punishment against them that appears to be frustrating Link at this moment, and as he pulls his fist away from the ground to stand back on his feet Riku can only bring himself to say as he notices the portal of light appearing in front of him "…Even though you'll be awakening the final Sage, you can't really call this a victory, can you?" Link shakes his head, saying to his friend in a melancholy tone "No…I shouldn't have let them escape…One arrow or one sword strike would have been enough to kill them while they had combined…But I didn't act soon enough, and I was unable to avenge Nabooru because of it…" With a sigh, the Hero of Time lifts his head up and says as he walks towards the portal "I wonder how she'll take the news…" Riku didn't say anything in regards to that final comment, seeing as he knew that Nabooru was the Sage of Spirit, so all he ended up doing was standing still as Link enters the portal and turns around, saying as his body is encased in crystal "I'll see you outside the temple Riku…"

Thus the Hero of Time flies into the air to go meet the final sage in the Sacred Realm, while the teenage Overlord makes his way out through the hole in the ceiling using his power of flight, thus avoiding a lot of traveling through the temple as he merely goes around the rock formation the Spirit Temple was built into and lands in front of the entrance, standing around patiently until Link is dropped from a pillar of light onto the hexagon platform, at which point the teenage Overlord glides on over and lands in front of him, watching as the Hero of Time lifts his head up with a confident expression as he clenches his fist in front of his chest and says to his friend "We're done playing Ganondorf's sick games now. Once we meet up with Shiek at the Temple of Time, we are going to take the battle straight to him and end his madness once and for all!" Before that was even spoken, Riku knew that the stage was almost set for the final battle…The Six Sages were awakened, the medallions had been collected, and all of Ganondorf's followers have either abandoned him or been killed in battle with the Hero of Time…There were only two things left to deal with, and that was Link's meeting with Shiek and the teenage Overlord's own confrontation with the Sage of Light, Rauru…

_Next Time: Truths of Wisdom and Light_


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Wisdom's Truth**

With the final sage awakened in the Spirit Temple and Ganondof's closest followers Koume and Kotake dispelled from the land of the Gerudos, the Hero of Time and the teenage Elemental Overlord traverse back through the Haunted Wasteland, the return trip proving easier thanks to the lack of a sandstorm at the moment. Once they return to the Gerudo Fortress, the two heroes find Epona standing around below the gate, and from the looks of things she had just arrived there. One had to suspect that the loyal horse knew when her master would be returning…Such is the beauty of a strong bond between a rider and his horse. As Link walks up to Epona and nestles her hair with his right hand, the Hero of Time says to her "Thanks for waiting…" and once he is done petting her he gets on her saddle and grips his hands around the reins, turning around towards the Fortress itself as he realizes something…

"I'm going to have to tell them that Nabooru was killed by those two witches…" Link isn't the slightest bit happy about having to do that, especially after what happened the last time he had to deliver the news of someone's demise. Commanding Epona to clop along towards the fortress, Link looks around until he notices Nabooru's second-in-command, the Gerudo that gave him the Membership Card earlier, standing around by herself with her back leaning against a stone wall. It appears that she has been waiting for someone, that person being the Hero of Time himself as evidenced by her head tilting towards him as he comes into view. Kicking herself off the stone, she walks close to Link and asks him "So what did you find in the Spirit Temple?" Judging from her tone of voice, she wasn't too intrigued by the inevitable answer the Hero of Time will give.

Link, with a brave look in his eyes, tells the Gerudo warrior "…Nabooru was killed by Koume and Kotake." There was no hesitation in his voice, he was perfectly honest to the Gerudo even though deep down in pained him to think about what happened to Nabooru. However, the second-in-command nonchalantly replies with "Ganondorf's surrogate mothers? Hmm…That explains why I saw them flying away from the Haunted Wastelands just a while ago…" The Hero of Time is a bit disgusted by the Gerudo's calm behavior, proclaiming to her in anger "You don't even care that one of your own has died?!" The Gerudo flinches in surprise over how quickly Link snapped at her, and with a relaxing of her arms against her hips she says "Of course I care that Nabooru died…But Ganondorf has been having those two witches use our people to accomplish some of his nefarious goals, and then he has them killed once they have served their purpose…So until the King of Evil is slain, we cannot at all grieve for those we have lost."

Link is surprised by what the Gerudo is saying to him, and with a questioning tone he asks "I thought you were supposed to worship the single male born into your tribe as a god?" The Gerudo second-in-command nods her head before going on to say "While that is true…The Ganondorf that exists now is not the man that was born into this tribe many, many years ago. You may not agree with how we followed him despite the people he murdered as he pillaged the villages of Hyrule…But back then he always had the survival of his people in mind, but ever since he became the absolute ruler of Hyrule he cares about nothing else besides obtaining power. The fact that he so willingly uses his surrogate mothers as minions and allows his own people to be killed just proves that…The Ganondorf we worshipped died seven years ago, and without Koume and Kotake watching over us we have no intention of ever showing loyalty to him again."

"Then you will have no problem with us taking the King of Evil down?" Riku asks. The Gerudo nods once, and after Link turns to his friend he says "Lets ride." With a whip of Epona's reins the Hero of Time rides off towards Gerudo Valley with Riku by his side. By this point the carpenters have recreated the bridge over the chasm, and the heroes are able to cross it to reach the other side. There they make their way across Hyrule Field towards the ruins of the Castle Town, their travels taking them hours on end thanks to the occasional rest stop for Epona, but eventually as the sun is setting in the distance they make it to the moat and cross it. Epona takes the desolate ruins of Castle Town rather well all things considered. She doesn't even flinch when they pass by the standing ReDeads…

It was Riku though who felt a bit uneasy traversing the center of town. He still hasn't gotten over the near-death experience he had in this area at the very beginning of his journey in Hyrule, and every ReDead he sees is a constant reminder of how he can never allow himself to underestimate what lies on other worlds. After passing through the center of the ruins, the two heroes make their way to the Temple of Time, where Link gets off of Epona and quietly asks her to be careful before the two of them make their way inside the temple itself. The Hero of Time, upon entering the glistening white confines of the holy temple notices that the marble block that once protected the Master Sword has returned, and the Spiritual Stones have noticeably lost most of their glow. Before he can get closer and examine this though, a familiar voice calls to him and Riku from behind "I have been waiting for you, Link."

A quick turn of their bodies reveals to the heroes the presence of Shiek, who walks into the room and stands still near the lip of the tattered red carpet. "Link, the Hero of Time…You have overcome many hardships and awakened six Sages. And now you have a final challenge, a showdown with Ganondorf, the King of Evil.…" Riku steps off to the side and makes his presence scarce, knowing all too well what was about to go down between Link and the mysterious Shiekah. The Hero of Time takes a step forward off of the hexagon platform, standing a few feet before Shiek before asking him "Yeah…And now you are going to tell me the truth about Princess Zelda, right?" The Shiekah nods his head once, his calm demeanor taking precedence over every other buried emotion as he says to the Hylian "Before that... I have things I want to tell only to you…Please listen closely. This is another unknown legend of the Triforce passed down by the shadow folk, the Sheikahs.…" Before he begins his tale, Shiek closes his eyelids focuses deeply on the tale buried in his mind…

"_If you would seek the sacred triangle, listen well...The resting place of the sacred triangle, the Sacred Realm, is a mirror that reflects what is in the heart...the heart of one who enters it...If an evil heart, the Realm will become full of evil; if pure, the Realm will become a paradise. The Triforce...the sacred triangle...it is a balance that weighs the three forces: Power, Wisdom and Courage. If the heart of the one who holds the sacred triangle has all three forces in balance, that one will gain the True Force to govern all. But, if that one's heart is not in balance, the Triforce will separate into three parts: Power, Wisdom and Courage. Only one part will remain for the one who touched the Triforce...the part representing the force that one most believes in. If that one seeks the True Force, that one must acquire the two lost parts. Those two parts will be held within others chosen by destiny, who will bear the Triforce mark on the backs of their hands."_

When the tale comes to an end, Shiek opens his eyes and continues on to another tale from the past, this one more recent in nature "Seven years ago, Ganondorf, the King of Thieves, used the door you opened in the Temple of Time and entered the Sacred Realm. But when he laid his hands on the Triforce, the legend came true. The Triforce separated into three parts. Only the Triforce of Power remained in Ganondorf's hand. The strength of the Triforce of Power enabled him to become a mighty, evil king, but his dark ambitions were not satisfied. To gain complete mastery of the world, Ganondorf started looking for those chosen by destiny to hold the two other Triforce parts. The one who holds the Triforce of Courage is...You, Link!" The Hero of Time flinches in shock, his mouth becoming slightly agape as he looks down at the back of his right hand and watches as a glowing mark of a single piece of the Triforce glows brightly on it.

But that was not all that caught his attention. On the back of Shiek's right hand appeared another glowing mark of the Triforce, this fragment having the bottom left triangle glowing instead of the bottom right like on Link's hand. Before the Hero of Time could comment on this event, the Shiekah said to him "And the other, who holds the Triforce of Wisdom...is the seventh Sage, who is destined to be the leader of them all…" As the Triforce mark glows brighter, Shiek raises his right hand in front of his face and crosses his left arm behind it, the Triforce expanding outward in size and pushing away from the back of the Shiekah's hand as a blinding flash of golden light fills the entire Temple of Time, forcing Link to hold his left hand in the way of his eyes in order to protect himself until the light subsides.

Link lifts his head up and is left utterly frozen in shock as he sees just what Shiek has done. The Shiekah has cast aside her disguise, revealing to the Hero of Time the girl who had helped him truly start this grand journey of his, Princess Zelda…But forever gone was the young, naïve looking Princess of yesteryear…Instead Link found himself gazing into the dark blue eyes of a more mature, confident and wise Zelda, who was now dressed in the adult-sized royal clothing passed down through her lineage. Her dress mainly consists of the color pink, though some parts are shaded darker than the rest. There is a jagged, golden crown wrapped around her head that has a red Ruppee carved into the center of it, and on her ear lobes are two earrings that look like small solid gold copies of the Triforce. Save for the ivory gloves that extend past her elbows, the only other thing of note is her long blonde hair that reaches down to the bottom of her shoulder blades…In the end, Link cared little about what the Princess was wearing, for he was too surprised by the fact that after all this time he has truly reunited with her face-to-face…

As the sun casts one last ray of light through the nearby window before it fully sets, Princess Zelda says to Link with her eyelids sunk in regret "I apologize for meeting you in disguise, but it was necessary to hide from the King of Evil. Please forgive me…" Zelda no longer speaks in the masculine tone that Link has come to be familiar with when talking to Shiek, but rather she speaks with the grace of a mature lady. The Hero of Time, still taken aback by this revelation and his mind reeling with questions, musters up the courage to ask Zelda "What happened Zelda? What have you been doing all these years?" Opening her eyes and staring into Link's own with her regret having yet to fade, Zelda walks forward and says to her dear friend "On that day, seven years ago, Ganondorf attacked Hyrule Castle…"

_Zelda recalls that frightening day from seven years ago, her mind recalling the steady pitter of raindrops that fell across both the ground and her body as she is carried on horseback by her rider and most loyal attendant, Impa. Zelda remembers the hope she had in her eyes when she saw the young Link standing at the end of the drawbridge, but also recalls the desperation on Impa's part that prevented them from stopping then and there…In a few words, Zelda explains her view of these events to the present day Link "I saw you as I was escaping from the castle with my attendant, Impa. I thought I should entrust the Ocarina to you...I thought that would be our_

_best chance…"_ _As Zelda recalls the moment when she threw the Ocarina of Time into the moat around Hyrule Castle Town, her memories of that day come to an end…_

Zelda looks into Link's eyes, her expression once again leaning towards deep regret as she proceeds to say to him "As long as you had the Ocarina in your possession, I thought Ganondorf could never enter the Sacred Realm, but...something I could never expect happened...After you opened the door of time, the Master Sword sealed you away in the Sacred Realm...Your spirit remained in the Sacred Realm...and then the Triforce fell into Ganondorf's hands. He went on to invade the Sacred Realm...Ganondorf had become the Evil King, and the Sacred Realm became a world of evil. All of this is an unfortunate coincidence. I passed myself off as a Sheikah after being trained by Impa in secret, and together we did whatever we could to stop Ganondorf's reign of terror across the lands of Hyrule…and all that time I hoped that you would one day return. I waited for seven years…"

Zelda hangs her head to the left, placing one hand against her chest as the pain of those long seven years haunt her memories, but as she bravely casts aside that pain and turns to face Link once more she puts on a bright smile and places her hands together in front of her chest before saying to her hero "But…now you are back. The dark age ruled by Ganondorf the Evil King will end! The six Sages will open the sealed door and lure Ganondorf back into the Sacred Realm…And I will then seal the door to the Sacred Realm from this world…That is why the Door of Time has been closed once more, in preparation for that moment when Ganondorf the Evil King will vanish from Hyrule forever…"

"But even after all you have done to free the Six Sages, I cannot do this alone…Link...

In order to do this, I need your courage again. Please protect me while I do my part…Though Ganondorf is strong, there is one other way to damage him besides using the Master Sword…Here is a weapon that can penetrate the Evil King's defenses...The power given to the chosen ones…" Reaching her hands into the sky, a hole of golden light surrounds the bottom of Zelda's body as she draws upon the deepest reaches of the Sacred Realm in order to conjure up a majestic sphere of raw light, and from that magic the Princess draws forth a glistening arrow whose head is sealed in a crystal sphere of hardened light…The arrow flies across the air until it is in front of Link's heart, at which point the sphere becomes pure light and imbues itself into the Hero of Time's very soul…

But after acquiring the power of the sacred Arrow of Light, a powerful rumble begins to shake the very foundation of the Temple of Time, causing the as of now stoic Riku to react to this event with widened eyes and a straightening of his body as Link and Zelda glance around the room, with the Princess saying in complete disbelief "That rumbling…It can't be?!" The ceiling begins to crack apart above the heroes, with an ever-looming sense of despair creeping into the sacred temple as without warning, Princess Zelda is encapsulated in a large, hollow pink crystal, he body becoming stiffly frozen in the center as Link notices this event and runs towards the crystal, his right fist swinging against the surface in an attempt to break her confinement to no avail. To make matters worse, a voice that Link has come to loathe and Riku never wished to hear despite the inevitability of it echoes into the temple…

"_Princess Zelda…you foolish traitor!" _It was Ganondorf, the almighty King of Evil himself…As Link presses his hands against the crystal and looks up to try and see if Ganondorf has appeared, the King of Evil continues to speak _"I commend you for avoiding my pursuit for seven long years. But you let your guard down...I knew you would appear if I let this kid wander around! My only mistake was to slightly underestimate the power of this kid…"_ At the end of his sentence, Ganondorf uses his magic to hoist Princess Zelda's crystal high into the air, continuing his sentence with a slight correction… _"No...It was not the kid's power I misjudged, it was the power of the Triforce of Courage! But, with the Triforce of Wisdom that Zelda has...When I obtain these two Triforces...Then, I will become the true ruler of the world!"_

"_If you want to rescue Princess Zelda, come to my castle! And bring your friend with you too so I can finish what I started with him!" _In a flash of light, Princess Zelda is dragged away to Ganondorf's Castle, his deep echoing laugh filling the Temple of Time as he leaves the Hero of Time with one final message _"Also…You think I was not aware of your trips to the past? There will be no more of that from you kid…Six Sages…You have that mysterious brat to thank for what I am about to do to your last stronghold!" _With a mere exertion of his dark magic, the King of Evil increases the strength of the tremors grasping the Temple of Time, using them to great effect as the walls and ceiling of the sacred temple begin to break apart one large chunk at a time, the pristine rocks crashing against the ground and becoming nothing more than rubble and dust as Link stands in place with his head shifting around to watch in shock as he sees Ganondorf's act of destruction happening before his very eyes.

Riku runs towards him, proclaiming with great urgency "What are we waiting for, lets get out of here!" Before the two heroes sprint out of the entrance of the Temple of Time just seconds before it is sealed off by the caving ceiling. Link runs to an uneasy Epona and pets her as gently and quickly as he can to calm her down so he can leap onto her saddle, and with the two heroes turning to face the Temple of Time they watch as the sacred place falls completely, the echoes of crumbling rocks and shattering glass filling the air as a circular plume of grey dust spreads out and touches the front of the heroes' bodies as they stare on ahead with eyes stiff in shock…There was nothing left of the once sacred temple save for the pedestal where the Master Sword once stood, but that was buried under a massive pile of rubble and stained glass…Never to be used again…

Link didn't spend long looking at the ruins of the Temple of Time, for his anger towards Ganondorf took priority over all other feelings in his mind. With a tug of Epona's reins he turns his horse around and looked towards Ganondorf's Castle, his eyelids slanting in a piercing glare as Riku says to him "You go on ahead to the castle Link…There's something I have to take care of real quick before I join up with you." The Hero of Time nods his head, and with a whip of Epona's reins he rides off towards the King of Evil's foreboding castle. Riku is thus left alone before the ruins of the Temple of Time, and with a glance towards the sky he exclaims once he is certain Link is out of range "Alright Rauru, come down here right now! We need to talk, just you and me!" After a few seconds of waiting, Riku moves his head down and turns to the left, and without so much as a forewarning Rauru is there in front of him with his eyebrows slanted in anger.

It was obvious as to why he was mad, considering that were it not from the boost from Riku's darkness, Ganondorf more than likely wouldn't have had the strength to destroy the Temple of Time. However, Riku was not about to give the Sage of Light any empathy considering what was on his mind at that moment. Rauru makes the first move in the conversation though, saying to the teenage Overlord with great impatience in his voice "What do you want, Elemental Overlord?" "Why have you been sabotaging my powers?" Riku wastes no time in getting straight to the point, cutting all the formalities he would normally have shared with the Sage of Light in order to catch Rauru off-guard and leave the normally composed Sage with a look of confused exasperation on his face as he responds with "I beg your pardon? You cannot seriously be accusing me of sabotaging your powers."

Riku, believing that Rauru is trying to save face in front of the other Sages who are likely watching this conversation from the Chamber of Sages, bluntly says to the Sage of Light "Cut the crap Rauru. In every temple I've gone through so far I've never detected any of Ganondorf's dark magic, so he is not responsible for some of my elemental powers failing to work…In fact, I detected no influences at all in any of the temple, which means that whoever was messing with my powers knew that I would easily recognize the person involved if they made their influence obvious…Ganondorf may be calculating, but he would have no reason to try and outsmart someone who he thought was dead…But you, who has been aware of my existence on this planet the entire time, are wise enough to figure out a way to suppress some of my powers without me knowing it was you."

In the face of these bold accusations, Rauru can only respond with "Preposterous. You are an Elemental Overlord, and because of your divine strength there is nothing I could feasibly do to subjugate any of your powers without you knowing it was me." The teenage Overlord paused for a moment and glared into Rauru's eyes. The old man kept a stern glare, his expression showing no signs of change for the ten seconds that Riku keeps looking at him, so the teenage Overlord is inclined to believe Rauru's word on that one…However, he has more points to bring up besides that as he wonders just who or what caused some of his elemental powers to shut off inside of the temples. Next up, the teenage Overlord says "Then explain to me why Impa amplified the magic draining capabilities of the Lens of Truth.

Rauru goes silent for a moment, his eyelids closing as he begins to explain to Riku "…I will be honest. We didn't think that you were telling the truth when you said that you would help stop Ganondorf…We believed that you would simply take back what was yours and leave this planet without a care in the world…So Impa decided to test your selflessness by amplifying the powers of the Lens of Truth to see if you would actually willingly harm yourself to help Link clear the Shadow Temple. In the end, such a plan was idiotic and we never should have gone through with it considering the potential risks for failure…" Rauru spoke with such regret and honesty at the end of his explanation that Riku himself actually started to feel terrible for accusing such a wise man of purposely sabotaging his journey with Link…

But then he remembered one matter that still hadn't been resolved, something that made him realize a contradiction in Rauru's latest explanation…Riku thus says to the Sage of Light "If you wanted to make sure that I was on your side…Then why have you been giving me nightmares about a Demise-possessed Ganondorf?" Rauru's ensuing reaction was not something that the teenage Overlord was expecting. The Sage of Light opened his eyes up wide, his naturally composed demeanor becoming a trembling mess as he stares towards the teenage Overlord and says in a stuttered voice "D-Demon King Demise…P-Possessing the King of Evil? What is this madness you speak of…There is no way that we would let anyone know of the Demon King's existence, especially not in a nightmare…" The teenage Overlord, upon having his final point countered by the reaction of the Sage of Light, slowly lowers his arms beside his body and softens his once haughty expression to a more regretting state as he whispers out to himself "Oh…"

Rauru looks at Riku with his eyes gleaming in panic as he swiftly asks him "Please, you have to tell me what happened in this nightmare." The teenage Overlord, feeling a bit guilty about accusing Rauru of working against him, nervously rubs the back of his head while slowly saying to the Sage of Light "I don't know the full details…But I saw myself kneeling on the ground in front of the possessed Ganondorf, at one point the Ocarina of Time was in my hands with Link nowhere to be found after a brief moment where he wearily charged into battle against the King of Evil…So I have to ask, why is it significant that I tell you about this if its just a nightmare?" The Sage of Light shakes his head as Riku looks towards him with a puzzled glare, replying to him with "That was no nightmare…It seems that because of your close proximity to a wielder of one of the Triforce fragments, you have gained the ability to dream of possible future events…That means that there is a chance that Demise will come back to life through the incarnation of hatred he created, Ganondorf…"

As Rauru becomes lost in his worried thoughts, he turns to Riku and says to him "I would explain to you what I mean…But if you know of the Demon King himself then there is truly no point in wasting time, is there?" The teenage Overlord nods his head, responding to Rauru in turn with "Yeah, I know how it works…The Demon King cursed all future incarnations of Link and Zelda to face his hatred, which was manifested in the form of Ganondorf…When you mentioned previous Links a couple days ago I had actually forgotten about the incarnation thing for Link and Zelda…But still, how could Demise possibly come back to possess Ganondorf? He's dead." As Riku brings this point up, Rauru pauses his thoughts and his eyes become blank from shock as he states in a horrified tone "No…That's not entirely true."

Rauru turns to the teenage Overlord and explains to him "Long ago, when the second incarnation of Link defeated the mighty Demon King, his residual consciousness was absorbed into the Master Sword itself, sealed away with the help of the guardian deity of the blade, Fi…But there is a chance that that consciousness can be reawakened…After all, it is but a seed waiting to bloom, so all it requires is the right amount of the right type of energy and Demise's consciousness will more than likely be infused into whoever managed to provide him with enough energy…" "In other words, the darkness that Ganondorf stole from me." Riku quickly replies with, his arms folded in front of his chest as a serious expression crosses his face and Rauru nods his head in response to his answer.

"Tell me, Elemental Overlord…Have you figured out a way to reclaim what was lost to you?" The Sage of Light calmly asks. Riku nods his head, drawing his right hand out from the rest of his body and with a single thought summoning forth his mentally controlled helix sword in front of his open palm. From there he holds the sword out in front of his body horizontally with his mind, the blade spinning around slowly as Riku explains to Rauru "The way I see it, Ganondorf stole the darkness that was buried in my very soul, which is where all of my elemental powers reside…Therefore my sword, which is also connected to my soul, should be able to reabsorb my darkness if I manage to plunge it into Ganondorf…But I can only do it when the King of Evil is defeated, which means Link cannot be allowed to use the Master Sword against him."

"Then how do you propose Ganondorf be defeated? The Light Arrow can only paralyze the King of Evil in his current state…In no way will they be able to truly finish him off." As Rauru poses this question to Riku, the teenage Overlord dispels his sword and responds to him with "I actually have control over the light element…I was intending to use that to defeat Ganondorf when I first encountered him, but my naivety with how my sword worked prevented me from doing the job. I should be able to use my light element now to strike at Ganondorf after Link paralyzes him with the Light Arrows…I really don't want to stop Link from having a chance to attack Ganondorf after all the King of Evil has put him through…But we can't allow Demise to return in any shape or form."

As Riku clenches his fist in front of his chest in a determine manner, he looks at Rauru and says to him with his eyelids sunk in guilt "…I'm sorry for accusing you of sabotaging my powers, along with everything else I falsely claimed that you had done…" The Sage of Light grins warmly at Riku's apology, saying to him in turn "It is mature of you to admit your mistake…And for that I think you, Elemental Overlord…But now I must ask you a favor. Do not, under any circumstances, tell Link about Demise. That is not something he needs to know." Riku nods his head, understanding just why Rauru was telling him that, and with a wave of his hand the teenage Overlord says "Alright Rauru, I'm going to go join back up with Link now so we can storm Ganondorf's Castle, so I'll you again in just a moment with the other Sages." Riku then dashes off to where Link is currently at, while Rauru ponders Riku's accusations and thinks to himself with eyelids sealed "Higher-ups…What have you been doing to the Elemental Overlord on this planet?" And with those cryptic thoughts, the Sage of Light vanishes from the sight of the Temple of Time's remains, his spirit body moving towards Ganondorf's Castle where the final battle shall unfold…

_Next Time: The Final Puzzles_


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Courage's Last Stand**

Link rides across the desolate Castle Town, Epona climbing up the hill to Ganondorf's Castle without hesitation as the ominous black tower comes into view for the Hero of Time, his eyes glaring towards the very top where Zelda is seemingly being held by the King of Evil. The horse keeps riding across the ash covered ground, her hoofs kicking it into the air with each step until the moment where Link gets a good look at the swirling pit of lava below the castle itself, at which point he pulls back on Epona's reins to get her to halt, remembering that he still had no way to cross over to the castle itself. Ganondorf made certain to destroy any bridge leading to his foreboding structure, leaving only a perilous gap between the ruins and his domain.

Link gets off of Epona and gentle rubs the side of her face, saying to her gently "Epona…Thank you for all that you have done for me throughout my journey…But I need you to go back to Lon Lon Ranch for now until Ganondorf is defeated." The horse, understanding her owner's intentions, merely shakes her head and neighs quietly before poking her nose against the Hero of Time's chest, causing him to chuckle at her before insisting "Epona…Please, do this for me." The horse at first wants to keep being by her owner's side, her head poking forward once more in order to show Link her utmost affection for him…But when Link looks into her eyes with a stern glare, Epona knew that he wasn't going to back down on this matter, and with a turn of her body she quietly galloped off to safety…

The Hero of Time was now almost alone, his only company being the fairy companion that has stuck with him through thick and thin, Navi. With a flutter of her sparkling wings, the fairy says to Link "Do you think that you'll be able to defeat Ganondorf?" The Hero of Time draws his Master Sword from his sheath, holding it vertically along his gauntlets as he stares into the pure reflective surface and replies to Navi with "Its not of matter of 'will I'…I have to defeat him Navi. If he claims all pieces of the Triforce, then everyone will suffer under his eternal rule." Even in the face of Link's bravery, Navi's faith in him is somewhat shaken by what she saw the King of Evil do to the Temple of Time, and with a light stutter she says "B-But what if you can't? You'll die Link…"

The fairy was also concerned about what Zelda said to Link about him possessing the Triforce of Courage, and that that news has made her friend believe that all of his bravery was just created by the Triforce fragment itself. The Hero of Time turned to Navi, sheathing his Master Sword before saying with confidence "Navi…From the very beginning of our journey I've courageously traveled inside of a monster's belly, a temple meant to hide the darkest secrets of Hyrule, and faced the most frightening minions Ganondorf could conjure…I did all that without knowing that the Triforce of Courage was in my possession. It has always been my own bravery guiding me to do what is right, not some golden fragment attached to the back of my right hand…I'm not scared of Ganondorf, and I'm not afraid to die if it means the King of Evil falls as well."

Misinterpreting Link's words, Navi stutters and yells out to her friend "You will not be dying on me Link, you got that?!" With words expressed from the innermost regions of her tiny heart, Navi pauses in place and gasps at the fact that she got so emotional all of a sudden, but Link cares little about the outburst and more towards his friend's concerns. With a smile on his face the Hero of Time says "Navi, I'm not going to purposely kill myself to defeat Ganondorf…I'm just saying that if it comes down to that, then at least I can rest easy knowing that Hyrule will be free of his evil." "Yeah, well it'll be better if you end up living to see a peaceful Hyrule again." With a tilt of his head Link sees Riku walking towards him and Navi, his arms folded across the front of his chest as the little fairy flies behind the Hero of Time's cap to let the two heroes speak to each other.

"What took you so long?" Link asks in a joking matter. Riku, being a bit more serious at the moment, replies to the Hero of Time with "I was talking to Rauru about our battle plan against Ganondorf. Link, I know this sounds weird, but you can't use the Master Sword against him." Link flinches in surprise before he asks "What brought this on?" The teenage Overlord proceeds to say "With the darkness Ganondorf stole from me he has become a lot stronger as a physical fighter, and let me tell you from experience that his punches were ridiculously strong before. If the Light Arrows don't paralyze him for long, then you'll be right in front of him when he recovers and be at his mercy. But I will be able to do something about this problem…"

"I have control over the light element, which is one of the few things that can harm Ganondorf in his current state besides your Master Sword. When you use the Light Arrows on him, I'll be able to strike him with my blade. Once he's down for the count, then I can impale my blade into his soul and reclaim my darkness." Once his plan has been explained, Riku unfurls his arms and says to Link "Of course, I'll let you deal the final blow to the King of Evil. Its only right you that you get it considering all he has put you through." "Alright, sounds like a plan." The Hero of Time says without any hesitation, but with a tilt of his head to the right he points out to his friend "But how are we going to cross over to Ganondorf's Castle?"

"_Link…Can you hear me? It's Rauru, the Sage." _The wise Sage of Light's voice echoes across the dark air not soon after Link ponders what to do. Continuing on from where he started speaking after seeing Link look for him in the air, Rauru says _"We six will combine our power to create a bridge to the castle where Ganondorf dwells…The castle's keep, which is known as Ganon's Tower, is protected by six evil barriers…It is up to you both to bring down the six barriers and save Princess Zelda!" _With Rauru's final words of encouragement to the heroes, a series of sparkling multicolor orbs rain down in front of the gap leading to Ganondorf's Castle, a flash of holy light piercing the foggy veil of darkness to reveal a crystal bridge with neon rainbow rails that is connected to the gateway into the castle itself.

Smiling at the helpfulness of the Sages, Link looks up into the sky and shouts out "Thanks for the help everyone! I will be sure to rescue Princess Zelda in no time!" With a wave of his hand forward the Hero of Time and Riku make their way across the stable bridge, entering through the front gates of the desolate monochrome castle and arriving in a foreboding, declining hallway with a dark purple carpet with golden trim lining the way to the bottom of the room, the dimly lit torches offering little in the way of vision. The two heroes run down the hall, noticing two Beamos on small pedestal at the end whose lasers they dodge as they make their way to the dark blue door in front of them and open it up to enter the next room.

The heroes had already arrived before the fabled Ganon's Tower, a grandiose onyx structure that reached up and pierced the black clouds in the sky beyond the ceiling of the inner castle. To enter the tower, one would normally have to cross the brown, crumbling stone bridge that stands before where the heroes currently stand…But to reach the demonic mouthed entrance, Link and Riku would have to deal with the six-sided barrier the Sage of Light warned them of, the dark magic necessary to keep said barrier around being exuded from six different colored crystallized beams of light that all came from individual rooms around the circumference of the tower itself. Above each door was a chiseled mark that looked like the Medallions Link had been given throughout his journey by the awakened Sages…

And sure enough, as the Hero of Time notices this his body radiates with holy light, those very same Medallions expanding outward in a ring around Link's waist until they are their normal size, at which point they fly off across the room and insert themselves perfectly into the marks, and with a ring of light appearing around that signifies them clicking into place the doors below them are unlocked. After watching this all unfold, Link thinks to himself with his right hand rubbing against his chin for a few good seconds before he turns to Riku and says to him "Remember what we did in the Water Temple?" The teenage Overlord swiftly responds "You mean how we split up to cover more ground?" The Hero of Time nods his head, saying with a gesture of his right hand "We should do that again now so we can deal with the barrier quickly. I'll take three sides, and you take the other three."

"Sounds like a plan." Riku says without any reluctance, and with a remembering flinch of his expression the teenage Overlord reaches into his pockets and pulls out the Lens of Truth, handing it over to a rather puzzled Link before hearing him say "Umm…Why are you giving this back to me? You're the only one who can handle it." Riku then shakes his head and says to the Hero of Time "Not anymore. I spoke to Impa about it when I went to see Rauru, and she managed to make it so the Lens won't be as draining on you. Besides, with my flight I shouldn't have to worry too much about invisible platforms." Smiling at his friend after hearing him out, Link nods his head out of appreciation and says "Thanks for giving this back then Riku. Lets get this done quickly and meet back in front of the bridge when we have finished." Nodding his head in agreement, Riku splits off from the Hero of Time, turning his head back only once as he thinks to himself "I may not have spoken to Impa…But I know she'll use her Sage powers to fix the Lens quickly."

With that thought, the teenage Overlord makes his way to the Forest chamber to the right of him, entering a small hallway with a more spacious room in the center that has an octagon shaped patch of carpet with four unlit steel torches on the corners and a single Wolfos that emerges from the shadows and howls in the face of its prey. Of course the lycanthrope wasn't alerted of the power of the Elemental Overlord, and with a draw of his sword Riku quickly impales the howling beast through the chest and watches as the creature whimpers and turns into a cloud of blue spirit fire. This causes a small chest to appear in the center of the carpet, but Riku didn't care at all about that as he made his way onto the carpet and dispelled his sword.

An extension of his arms out beside his body preludes the intense focus the teenage Overlord was about to put into summoning forth four comet-tailed fireballs around his body, and after having them swirling around his waist a few times Riku pushes them away so they can light up the torches around him. The iron bars covering the door ahead of him do not raise though, a problem that Riku quickly remedies with a casual toss of a small burning spark from his right hand that lights the torch standing above the aforementioned door and undoes the iron bars, allowing him to enter the next room as he slowly walks on ahead and claps his hands together twice. Upon entering the next room, the teenage Overlord feels a couple of breezes on both sides of his body, and notices a couple of fans from the Shadow Temple attached to both walls.

"Huh, not really very Forest Temple-like, is it?" Riku comments in a jesting voice, his head then turning to face the Silver Rupees spread across the room across the normally perilous platforms. If Link were here, he'd use his Longshot and Hover Boots to deal with this room, but the more elemental inclined Riku simply creates a barrier of air around his body that will redirect the flow of the fans as he leaps across the platforms and collects every last Silver Rupee in order to undo the iron bars on the other side of where he started. In the final room of this chamber is a couple of stone torches lit with green flames and a strange, rotating membrane that continuously feeds dark green energy through a cracked crystal in the ceiling. Remembering how to deal with these membranes in an instant, the teenage Overlord extends his right arm in front of his body and places his clenched left hand on top of his wrist like he is pulling on a bow, and with a draw of light energy from his soul Riku creates a small arrow that grows in size until it is the length between his elbow and wrist…At which point his grip on the arrow is loosened so it can pierce right through the membrane, infusing it with so much light energy that it expands past the confines of the crystalline pillar and bursts.

After a shine of foggy green light fills the room, the Forest Sage appears where the membrane once was. She is a young, green-haired girl with a dark green headband wrapped around the top of her head with part of it hidden behind her pointed ears. Her wardrobe, which consists of a t-shirt with knitted on dark green sleeves and a small pair of shorts, is colored the same as her hair, with her barely fitting boots sharing the color of her sleeves and headband. With her hands held together in front of her chest and a smile on her face, the blue-eyed Sage named Saria says to Riku "The Forest Barrier has been dispelled! Continue on, Elemental Overlord!" Before the Sage can lift her arms into the air and cast a spell to send the teenage Overlord back to the tower, Riku takes a moment to say to Saria "You know…I think Link regrets being unable to save you the most." The Sage moves her head down and tilts it to the left, smiling with her eyelids closed as she says in a wise voice unbefitting her young appearance "I know he does…But even though I am a Sage now, we will forever be friends…" Her response echoes in Riku's eardrums as Saria turns into a sphere of green light and casts a spell that warps the teenage Overlord through the previous rooms and drops him off in front of the door to the Forest chambers, where Riku then looks up and sees that the magic connected to the barrier has vanished.

With one side of the barrier dealt with, the teenage Overlord moves on the Water chambers, entering through the door to be greeted by a powerful chill for a few seconds until he can adjust his heat to deal with the problem. He then moves on ahead, walking around the ring of crystal spikes surrounding an altar of blue fire seeing as he doesn't require it. Speaking of that, Riku comes across a wall of red ice and uses said blue flames from his hands to melt it down and open the way to the next room, which has a couple of push able blocks of ice designed to look like the tiled floor below Riku's fee. There was a puzzle here involving pushing one block to act as a step towards a wall of red ice, but with the teenage Overlord's powers all he has to do is leap onto the small ledge where the red ice is and plant his hands on them to melt them with the heat from his blue flames.

After seeing the rusted switch on the other side of the melted ice, Riku sighs and turns himself around, gesturing towards his body as he attaches his focus onto one of the ice crystals in the room, and after said crystal is hoisted from the floor the teenage Overlord leaps off the ledge and guides it over to put it on top of the switch. With enough weight applied to it, the switch activates and the iron bars on the other side of the room are dispelled. After a quick walk across the ice floor, Riku enters the final room of this chamber. Unlike with the Forest chamber, the flames in this room are light-blue along with the energy flowing from the membrane. Utilizing the pseudo Light Arrow technique from before, Riku destroys this membrane and releases a burst of foggy blue light that ends with Ruto being summoned where said membrane used to be. "The Water Barrier is dispelled! Hurry up Riku, and make sure to tell Link that he's been doing a great job so far!" Ruto then uses her Sage powers to send Riku back to the tower area.

Before he moves on though, the entire room trembles, and the teenage Overlord could tell that something just cracked apart because of the falling of rubble he hears only a few seconds later. After his heart skips a beat, Riku thinks to himself "Geez, did Link acquire those already? Oh well, I only have one room left to deal with…So I think I'll tackle the Spirit chamber." Moving over to the left side of the room, the teenage Overlord enters the Spirit chamber and is greeted by a Beamos statue centered between a square formation of four small statues, and around this room are five more Silver Rupees needed to unlock the door to the right side of the room. With a grin on his face, Riku deals with the obstacles in the following manners: A piercing bolt of lightning through the eye of the Beamos, a complete solidification of the statues in ice, and a swift gust to collect the silver Rupees in the span of five seconds.

Whistling to himself merrily as he makes his way to the next room, Riku then sees a tall set of black iron bars set beside a single door. On the other side of the bars is a crystal switch between two lit wooden torches that is needed to unbar the door, and there is a hole at the top of the bars that Link would have used a Bombchu on in order to solve the puzzle. Riku is a little more straightforward with the solving of this puzzle though, and with a whipping of his left hand out to the side he sends out a vine that crawls between the bars and taps the crystal to undo the iron bars on the door. After pulling the vine back into his body, the teenage Overlord makes his way through to a chamber with four Sun Panels and yet another door covered by iron bars.

Looking up towards the ceiling, Riku notices a thick web trapping in some sunlight that he needs for this puzzle. Thus with a small spark the teenage Overlord watches as the webbing burns and the sun light is released in a cone shape from the open hole. After that Riku holds his hands below his waist and releases a cold frost, building up ice bit by bit until he has created a slick reflective slope that the light bounces off of and shines onto the sun panel in the southwestern side of the room. This panel turns out to be the correct one, as it shines brightly and creates that weird face that all the others have thus far. The iron bars are undone, and Riku enters the final room of this chamber. In here the flames and membrane energy are brown, but this is a sight that the teenage Overlord doesn't pay attention to for long as he deals with the membrane with one quick arrow of light. After using light energy outside of the correct form three times, even in such short amounts, Riku is starting to feel signs of fatigue, but doesn't feel too concerned about it seeing as he'll be refreshed after changing forms upon engaging Ganondorf himself…

For now though, the teenage Overlord takes a light breath in and watches as Nabooru appears where the membrane once was. This was the first time Riku was getting the see the Gerudo Sage in person, and unlike with Ruto he actually had something to say to Nabooru before he is sent off. Taking a couple steps forward, Riku listens in as Nabooru says in her usual spunky tone of voice "The Spirit Barrier is dispelled! You should probably hurry up, kid." Nabooru begins to raise her arms into the air, only for Riku to urgently thrust his right hand out and exclaim "Wait!" The Gerudo pauses, pointing her head down and listening in as the teenage Overlord says with his posture becoming more natural "Nabooru…You and I may not have met directly…But I still feel guilty for not being able to stop Twinrova when they escaped from the Spirit Temple."

Nabooru blinks twice in bewilderment, her head pulling back as she laughs at Riku's apology, which surprises him before the Gerudo Sage looks down at the teenage Overlord and says with the utmost honesty "Hey don't worry about it kid. I saw Link try his hardest to kill Twinrova, and from what I heard about you if you had the ability to stop those witches you would have in a heartbeat. You both tried your best, and I'm actually flattered that you two would have gone through all that trouble for someone you barely knew. But for now, just worry about dealing with Ganondork, ok?" Chuckling at Nabooru's nickname for the King of Evil, Riku nods his head and is swiftly hurtled back to the tower by the Sage's magic, where he notices that Link has yet to return to the bridge, and that one ray of dark magic remains above the Light Chamber…

Going back in time a little bit to when Riku and Link split up, we find the Hero of Time traveling around the room until he arrives in front of the Shadow chamber, which he decides to enter first seeing as he has the Lens of Truth in his possession. Inside the first room of this chamber is a long, chasm filled room with barely any visibility in the air. The walls are lined with thin cobwebs, and the ceiling appears to be kept stabilized by a long spine and ribcage. Caring little about the scenery, the Hero of Time puts on the Lens of Truth and finds a series of crystal textured platforms floating in mid-air that lead the way through the room. Leaping across the platforms with great agility, Link makes sure to avoid the Like-Like on the middle normal stone platform before he continues on along the next set of crystal platforms and arrives at a strange platform with a patch of blue carpet that reminds him much of the areas in the Spirit Temple where a small chest would fall down on a piece of red carpet.

Looking around the area while ignoring the thin path leading to the door on the other side of the room, Link finds a lone stone switch on top of a crystal platform that lies below the floor he stands on. Though a leap down there seems like a one way trip, Link bravely goes through with the jump anyways and lands on top of the switch, turning around as a large chest appears on top of the blue carpet. Without any concern for his supposed isolation, the Hero of Time takes out his Longshot and fires it at the back of the chest, pulling himself back up so he can push open the lid of the chest and see what contents lie inside. Lifting his body up, Link holds a pair of Golden Gauntlets above his head triumphantly.

_Link has obtained the __**Golden Gauntlets!**__ They are like the Silver Gauntlets, but now you get even MORE POWER by wearing them…Say, has anyone ever thought that these gauntlets look a lot like those old Power Gloves? Maybe its just me…_

With what would more than likely be the last unmentioned bit of narrative text, Link puts on the Golden Gauntlets and puts the Silver ones away into his tunic, turning towards the left and noticing a rusted switch on top of another crystal platform that Link can reach via a thin, winding path attached to the platform he is currently on. Walking across the path, Link takes out his Megaton Hammer for the first time in a long while and uses it to press down on the switch, its activation undoing the iron bars on the door in the very back of the room and allowing the Hero of Time to enter the next room after backtracking across the prior path and going along a second one that lies in the center of the platform.

In the next room, Link finds the very same membrane and torch combination that Riku has likely encountered by now, only the color scheme this time is a dark violet. Since the membrane was so tightly connected to Ganondorf's dark magic, the Hero of Time takes out his bow and arrow, readying his aim as he draws on the power of the Light Arrow that Zelda imbued into his body to fire a shot bright and true through the air that punctures the membrane and fills the room with a golden light as the membrane is destroyed. Impa then appears in place of the membrane with her arms crossed sternly, which catches Link off-guard as he puts his bow away and the Shadow Sage says to the Hero of Time "The Shadow Barrier is dispelled! Please save the Princess!" With her Sage magic, Impa sends the Hero of Time back to the central room, puzzling him for a moment before he recognizes the convenience of this and decides to move on the Fire chamber without saying a single word.

Inside this next chamber is a vast, lava-filled room whose heat causes the Hero of Time to immediately break into a sweat as he realizes something that he had forgotten about since the end of the Water Temple…He was still wearing the Zora Tunic, and hadn't bothered to change it for the last couple of days. Well now was a better time than any to take care of business, and as he stands on the first platform in the room he quickly puts on the red Goron Tunic and is immediately saved from dehydration at the hands of this room's heat. With that in mind, Link moves across the barely stable concrete platforms, winding around this maze-like obstacle course as he notices some silver Rupees lined up waiting to be collected.

There is one behind a rotating, twin-headed flamethrower statue, one on a stone platform floating on top of the magma, and another on a stable hexagon platform guarded by a Torch Slug that Link cuts down with the Master Sword. There was still one missing, and another one on a platform similar in design to the one he collected the second Rupee on that is out of reach. Taking one quick look around the room, the Hero of Time catches a glimpse of a gigantic stone pillar that is composed out of the same material as the large block that impeded his and Riku's progress in the Spirit Temple. This pillar looked to be a lot heavier than that block, but with a glance at his newly acquired Golden Gauntlets the Hero of Time says to himself "I can lift that."

Navi emerges for a moment and says to Link "Link, I don't think you can-" The Hero of Time turns to his fairy friend and says with a stern glare and a light smile "Navi…I can lift that." With a great deal of insistence from Link, Navi falls back and lets her friend traverse the platforms so he can position himself in front of the pillar, and after bending at the knees Link places his fingers underneath the pillar and gives it a nice strong lift. With barely any effort on his part, the pillar is ripped from the ground it was stuck in, shocking Navi to the point that she almost faints where she flies…But had she done that, she would have missed Link taking the pillar and flinging it backwards, and after it flips upside-down the pillar drops into the lava to create a bridge to the silver Rupee Link was trying to obtain earlier.

And for added convenience, the last Rupee is right in front of Link, hidden underneath the girth of the huge black pillar. Thus after a little more foot work, Link manages to undo the iron bars at the northern end of the room and enters through the door, arriving in the final room where despite the element in question the flames are colored a reddish-purple while the energy the membrane exudes is pure red. The Hero of Time fires another Light Arrow to deal with the dark magic, and in the membrane's place Darunia appears with a jolly smile on his face as he proclaims "The Fire Barrier is dispelled! Hurry up, Brother!" And with his sagely powers, the mighty Goron sends Link back to the tower room.

From there, the Hero of Time moves down the stairs to the right of him and notices another black stone pillar. Using the same moves he did before, Link hoists the pillar into the barrier itself, the impact causing the room to tremble as the black chunks crumble against the floor. The way to the Light Chamber was now open, and Link enters it to find a room seemingly devoid of enemies yet filled with small chests and a door that requires a key to open. But the Hero of Time cannot get rid of this feeling of uneasy that crept onto him upon entering, so he decides to put on the Lens of Truth for a moment and is shocked to find a giant Skulltua and a bunch of Keese standing on top of the chests. With some quick swordplay, Link kills them all and watches as another small chest spawns in the center of the room. From this chest Link pulls out a small key and uses it to open the door in front of him.

The next room is a simply a small passage with another locked door and a mark of the Triforce in front of it. All it takes is a quick playing of Zelda's Lullaby and another small key is dropped from the sky to allow Link access to the next room. In this circular room are two boulders that roll back and forth along the ground in opposite directions every time they touch each other, and once again there were five Silver Rupees that needed to be collected to advance. The Hero of Time, as he goes about his business cautiously, thinks to himself "Geez, Ganondorf really likes silver Rupees…Doesn't he?" After collecting these silver Rupees again, Link is able to open the way to the final room in this chamber, though he nearly gets caught between both boulders as he does so.

In this room were merely two golden flamed torches with not a single membrane in sight…Except because Link never took off the Lens of Truth, he sees a hidden passage behind the 'wall' that leads to the real room with the torches and membrane. Another Light Arrow is all it takes to deal with the final part of the barrier. Rauru appears, saying to Link in his wise tone of voice "The Light Barrier, the final barrier…Is dispelled! Now Link, I leave the fate of Hyrule to you and the Elemental Overlord…" With his magic, the Sage of Light sends the Hero of Time back to the front of the tower where Riku is, and with all barriers dealt with the main one surrounding the tower expands outward with the entire room shifting between different color tones as the shield distorts and vanished into nothingness. The way to Ganondorf was now open, and the two heroes didn't have to say anything to each other as they made their way across the bridge and entered Ganon's Tower…

_Next Time: The King of Evil_


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: The Depths of Power**

Having finally made it inside of Ganon's Tower, the two heroes are greeted by a slow playing organ melody coming from the very top floor, the sounds obviously being conducted by Ganondorf himself. Though there was a slight feeling of foreboding creeping across the tower, the heroes felt no hesitation weighing them down as they turned to the staircase to the left and began to ascend its red carpeted steps, the light from the torches behind them fading out as they reach an interim point between those and a couple more torches at the very top of the staircase. To the right of the staircase is a emerald slab with golden stone marked around it acting as a sliding doorway to the next room, and after entering through it the heroes arrive in a rounded room with four torches on the corner walls and iron bars blocking the passages on the left and right sides of the room.

In turn, a smaller set of iron bars block the way back and seal off the way ahead, with two bipedal reptilian warriors wielding heavy swords in their scaly right claws dropping from the ceiling to confront the heroes in a futile attempt to stop them from reaching their master. These warriors were called Dinolfos, and despite their bodies being covered in spines and heavy black armor they were nothing more than a small obstacle for the heroes to overcome. Link draws out his Master Sword and dashes towards the Dinolfos on the left while Riku leaps into the air and throws out a couple fireballs at the right one after sustaining levitation. With his feet tapping against the ground as he runs, Link stamps down his right foot and swings at the Dinolfos, his blade being guarded by the length of the reptilian's own sword and forcing the Hero of Time to quickly draw the Master Sword away and thrust it out in front of his body, breeching the defense the Dinolfos created by attacking from below the sword and impaling the cold-blooded heart of the reptilian warrior.

Meanwhile, Riku's fireballs are cut down with two swings, but the teenage Overlord then clasps his fingers against his palms to take the broken flames and make them expand into an incinerating field that surrounds the Dinolfos and burns him into a black crisp, his sword turning into liquid metal that the ash sticks to as it falls onto the ground as a puddle. With both enemies defeated, the two heroes return to their normal postures on the ground and advance through the now open door in front of them, and they climb the staircase without breaking their determined stride. In the next room is a giant ring of fire guarding a golden chest, and in turn two Stalfos appear from behind the flames to be the next obstacle stopping the heroes' dedicated charge.

The prior moves of the heroes will do nothing to stop these Stalfos, so a change in tactics was required. Link sheathed his Master Sword and drug a Bomb out from the bag in his tunic, throwing it at the left Stalfos to force its shield up and shroud its vision in the ensuing explosion before he runs forward and throws a punch at the skeleton warrior's face, disrupting its balance and pushing it onto its backside, the impact with the ground causing the shield to fly out of his grip. From there Link stamps his foot on the rib cage of the Stalfos as the flames from the side cover the anger on his face in shadow before he takes out his Master Sword and drives the tip of the blade into the skull of the skeleton warrior to finish it off.

Meanwhile, Riku takes out his sword and dashes towards the Stalfos, his blade being locked against the warrior's shield as his flames erupt around the surface of his weapon. The skeleton warrior smirks at first, an early sign of arrogance that is quickly withdrawn upon feeling a searing sensation coming from the arm his shield is gripped in. With the heat of his blade the teenage Overlord melts the shield down to liquid metal and keeps moving his blade forward, carving the Stalfos in two diagonally to kill it, the black marred bones falling to the ground as Riku dispels his sword with arms extended down to the left of him. He straightens his posture though as the iron bars and flame ring disperse, with Link opening the chest and swiping the Boss Key right out from within as he rushes towards the door with his friend following close behind.

The two heroes climb another winding staircase, this one having a multitude of lit torches lining the way to the next room. Upon entering, the heroes are greeted with two Iron Knuckles, one wearing silver armor while the other has one composed entirely of onyx. With the intruders arrival, the Iron Knuckles stir to life, their rising bodies causing the room to tremble slightly as they wrench their axes from the ground and face Link and Riku as the too draw their weapons for battle. The heroes don't need to speak to each other to designate who they are targeting, for the Hero of Time is the first to charge forth across the cracked flooring and head towards where the black Iron Knuckle stands. He has no qualms with fighting these armored monsters even if they hold Gerudos inside of them like all the rest, for death will spare them the pain of being under Ganondorf's control.

Link jumps and brings the Master Sword down with both arms, a mighty strike whose strength is increased by the speed of gliding momentum yet is still not enough to break the guard of the Iron Knuckle as the armored warrior takes the right head of his axe and swings it out to block the attack. The Hero of Time is knocked back a couple feet before he lands, the sharp length of his blade falling to the ground with a clink before the Hylian pulls his sword up and back flips to dodge the powerful downward swing from the Iron Knuckle's axe that impacts with the ground and creates a large crack across the surface. But such a powerful attack has left the axe stuck in the floor, and as the Iron Knuckle pulls on the handle to rip the weapon out Link sheathes his sword and takes out his bow and arrow now. If he was correct about the inhabitant of the armor now, one shot was all it would take to finish the enemy off.

Pointing towards the uppermost hole in the Iron Knuckle's helmet, Link releases his grip on the arrow and watches as the tip barely fits through the hole and impales itself into the head of the Gerudo trapped inside, denying the armor of the being capable of controlling it and causing both it and the Gerudo to disappear into the afterlife after being covered in blue spiritual flames. Meanwhile, Riku takes the flames from the torches in this room and gathers them around the feet of the Iron Knuckle he is facing, building up the heat and power within the swirling ring of fire before snapping his fingers casually in front of his chest and watching as a pillar of fire engulfs the Iron Knuckle and melts both it and the Gerudo inside down into nothingness. With the Gerudos inside the Iron Knuckles freed with their deaths, the heroes move through the now open door and ascend up another staircase, the golden lock that required the Boss Key they picked up earlier signifying that the final battle was only a breadth away.

The lock is undone, and the heroes enter a circular room with two barred off passages and a pillar with many slots that could be gripped onto suggesting that one could climb up to the top floor were the ceiling not in the way. Lined along the walls were orange, oval shaped stained glass windows, and from above the sound of Ganodorf's organ grew louder, suggesting that he was right above the heroes. With only a slight pause the two of them move along the path in the floor to enter the golden door to the right, finding themselves in front of one last staircase whose steps are lined with a regal red carpet befitting the King of Evil's tastes, and the walls were covered in sky blue stained glass windows that brighten the staircase, though not in a welcoming manner.

Link and Riku climb up the staircase with a courageous sprint, the way losing its curve and straightening out for a bit before the heroes are forced to round another corner to inch closer to their destination. The music becomes louder, but still retains the foreboding element that Ganondorf is trying to instill into the hearts of the heroes who steadily approach him. As they ascend, Riku looks at the Hero of Time from behind and thinks to himself "This is it…After all that has happened to Link through this journey, he will finally get to confront the man responsible for all of Hyrule's suffering and make sure that he gets the punishment he properly deservers…But not until I have made sure that my darkness has been properly returned to me…"

At the end of his thoughts, the two heroes have made it to the top of the tower, the final thing standing between them and Ganondorf being one final golden door. Link walks up to it with his Master Sword drawn, and it opens up on its own in an inviting manner that draws more than a glare of suspicion from the Hero of Time as he and Riku enter the room. The two heroes were now in a grand cathedral of sorts, with the walls once again lined entirely with stained glass windows and a regal red carpet leading the way to the small staircase that the King of Evil himself stands on top of with his hands gliding along the keys of the grandiose organ in front of his body. Contrary to what Riku saw of him before, Ganondorf now wore an aura of pitch black darkness around his body, something that was born from the energy the King of Evil had stolen from the teenage Overlord.

Above Ganondorf was Zelda, still trapped in the same crystal that the King of Evil used against her in the Temple of Time. The Princess looked down at Link and Riku, her eyes stiff with shock that her hero had come so swiftly while Ganondorf, with his expression hidden from view, merely smirks as he nears the end of his song. Link feels a strong warmth coming from his right hand, and looks down at the back of it to see the Triforce of Courage appear on it in all of its glowing majesty. Princess Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom does the same on the back of her right glove, and with one final note Ganondorf hovers his fingers above the keys of his organ and says in a subdued yet deep voice ripe with anticipation "The Triforce parts are resonating…They are combining into one again…The two Triforce parts that I could not capture on that day seven years ago…I didn't expect that they would be hidden within you two!"

Pulling his arms away from the organ, Ganondorf says to the Hero of Time "And now, finally, all the Triforce parts have gathered here!" The King of Evil turns around, drawing his right arm out into the air to allow his cape to fall behind him as he faces Link for the first time in seven long years. Ganondorf smirks though upon looking at the teenage Overlord, saying to him in a callous yet thankful tone "I must thank you, kid, for giving me the means necessary to destroy the Temple of Time…But I dislike how long you have managed to avert death. I'll make sure to deal with you accordingly…" Bravely glaring into the eyes of the King of Evil, Riku draws his sword beside himself and says "That's not going to happen this time. We will defeat you!"

The King of Evil smiles at the teenage Overlord's defiance, but says to him in a reminding tone "You were unable to conquer the Triforce of Power before, what makes now any different?" With a coy smile, Riku responds to Ganondorf with "You'll just have to wait and see." Link then takes charge in the conversation, declaring to Ganondorf in the most subdued yet furious manner he can muster "Ganondorf, I am not going to let you assemble the Triforce! You have done enough to Hyrule and its people, and its time for you to be sealed away for your crimes!" The King of Evil responds to Link's bravado and brandished Master Sword with "What I have done to the people of Hyrule is merely poetic justice for everything the former King of Hyrule did to my people…" "What do you mean by that?" Riku then asks.

Ganondorf holds his right hand out, a slight smile appearing on his face as he begins to explain to the two heroes "Do you know what type of man the former King of Hyrule was? He was a man who once believed that the Hylians were superior to all races, using his political power to subjugate all other races under his grasp until the day a war broke out that bathed Hyrule in fire. Gerudos, Shiekahs, Zoras and Gorons alike took part in this war, but in the end only the Hylians won the fight. The Gorons and Zoras became subservient to the King, but as it was revealed in the end of the war the Shiekah were aligned with the King from the very start. The Gerudos, on the other hand, refused to completely submit to the King…Do you know why that is?"

Clenching his fist in anger as a scowl crosses his face, Ganondorf says to the heroes and slightly towards the Princess "Because during the war, the King captured and enslaved my people, whipping them to the point of bleeding and sometimes death in his prisons…And those were just the lucky ones. The rest of the Gerudos were forced to craft armor with their bare hands, every bit of pain and agony they endured being done over again and again as the soldiers force fed red potions down their throats to heal their wounds. The King of Hyrule was a vile, racist man who hated Gerudos with a seething passion…And in the end all we Gerudos truly desired was to be free of the deathly winds that pounded our lands…But would the King listen? Of course not. A man who believes himself to be on the very precipice of power will do nothing but hear what he wants to hear."

"However, the King of Hyrule was not all powerful…Not so long as he had no way to access the Triforce. So with his desires taking over all rationale in his mind, I offered the King a deal…In exchange for the freedom of all captive Gerudos, I would help him acquire the Triforce, a deal I eventually planned to turn against him as revenge for all the suffering he ignored. You know how the story went down from there…But in the end I never required the Trifroce to kill that pitiful excuse for a King, and in the fires of Hyrule Castle I sowed him an ironic demise. But the King's death was not enough…Every soldier who followed his orders, every single species who dared to submit to his false claims of superiority…They were just as guilty as the King was, and once I acquired the Triforce of Power I vowed to make them all suffer for what they had done."

With his motives laid out to the heroes, Link can only say in disgust "You sicken me, Ganondorf." The King of Evil raises his eyebrows, saying not a word as the Hero of Time continues to say to him "How can you even justify your actions after all that you've done. So what if the King wronged you and your people, does that make it right to make a bunch of uninvolved parties suffer because of it? And what about your people? You wanted them to stop suffering in Gerudo Valley, and yet you forced them to work for your nefarious ends once you became the same power-hungry monster as the King you so hated. You're a hypocrite and a monster, Ganondorf, and you are unworthy to wield the Triforce!"

It is not until Link's final bold declaration that the King of Evil laughs, his smile becoming thick with arrogance as he responds to the Hero of Time with "Is that what you truly believe? If I was not worthy…" Raising his right fist into the air, Ganondorf summons forth his Triforce of Power and declares calmly to Link "Then this would not be on my hand…You, on the other hand, are a mere child who has been forced to do the Sages dirty work and was given a toy out of pity. Well guess what? These toys are too much for you! As the rightful bearer of the Triforce, I command you to return them to me!" The Triforce of Power glows brightly, the darkness surrounding Ganondorf's body merging with it as he exerted just a little bit of effort to send a lashing, swirling wave of darkness Link and Riku's way.

Sensing the King of Evil's malicious intent ahead of time, Riku jumps in front of the Hero of Time and extends his sword out in front of him, thinking to himself "No fooling around this time blade. Give me the power over light!" The blade complies, the silver segment glowing brightly as the room is filled with the crisp brightness of a heavenly glow that shrouds and protects Link from the full brunt of Ganondorf's attack while binding the teenage Overlord in a sphere of light. When the King of Evil pulls back on his attack, the light sphere shatters, revealing that Riku is now garbed in the wardrobe of a heavenly warrior, his swords having shifted into the form of a diamond gilded katana infused with holy energy. With his angelic wings spread beside him, the teenage Overlord rises into the air as Ganondorf looks towards him with a look of utter shock on his face before Riku declares "We won't let you get your way Ganondorf. You will give back what you have wrongfully taken and be sealed away for your crimes!"

Ganondorf smiles, while on Link's side of things Navi looks towards the King of Evil and says in a melancholy yet upset tone "I'm sorry Link…But the waves of darkness are too strong…I can't get near him…" Ganondorf then swings his arms off to the side, brushing both parts of his cape into the air as he lifts up of the ground and hovers around, the room transfiguring into a battleground worthy of his grand power as both Zelda and the organ vanish into nothingness, which causes Link to tightly grip the Master Sword as the King of Evil looks at both heroes and proclaims to them "Neither of you will escape…I will not make that mistake twice! Prepare yourselves, you shall now see the full might of the Triforce of Power!" With the battle having now begun, the King of Evil lets out a malicious, echoing laugh…

_Next Time: The Fall of Evil_


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Confrontation with Ganondorf**

Riku floats in the air, the darkness from Ganondorf's body lashing out as it waves back around to the confines of the King of Evil's right fist, a pale black glow created by the Triforce of Power infusing him with the strength of thousands as he smirks and looks towards the ground. Knowing what he has planned along with the severity of the attack now that his power was furthered, the teenage Overlord quickly proclaims to Link "Link, get back now!" The Hero of Time takes a quick glance towards Riku to acknowledge his warning before leaping back the very moment that Ganondorf slams his fist against the center of the floor, the Triforce of Power releasing his dark magic in the form of several large shockwaves that spread out across the floor and rise up halfway towards the ceiling, in the process nearly knocking Riku back against the wall out of sheer might.

The darkness slips into the cracks between each panel surrounding the centermost one for two rows out, the entire tower trembling as black light flushes out of the cracks and the panels sink down into the floor, falling into the segment of the tower that the two heroes had traversed just a moment ago. The panels crash against the ground, breaking apart as the tower itself tries to recover from its master's supreme might. Link was forced to plant his Master Sword into the ground in front of him and get on his knees just to avoid being slammed against the wall, an act that made Riku concerned as he glared down at the rising King of Evil and thought to himself "I got to remember not to let Link strike Ganondorf with the Master Sword…"

Ganondorf floats above the central platform in this cathedral, thrusting his arms off to the side to part his cape before he watches the Hero of Time rise to his feet and swing his sword out to the side, taking out his Mirror Shield and staring bravely into the King of Evil's callous stare as Ganondorf laughs and raises his right hand into the air. With a violent radial of black sparks emerging from a crimson orb of dark magic around his fist, the King of Evil waits for Link to show even a moment of hesitation before he throws the completed sphere towards him. The Hero of Time waits a moment, watching as the sphere grows closer and closer to his body until the moment where it would be within range of his blade, at which point he swings down to use the purifying effects of the Master Sword to send it back at the King of Evil…

However, Ganondorf is aware of Link's plans and swipes his hand to the left, guiding the orb away from the Hero of Time as the sword comes down upon the ground. Riku doesn't even notice Ganondorf's actions, and is thus only given a second to become aware of the orb of dark magic flying his way. With a swift turn of his body that is halted by his spreading legs, the teenage Overlord slices across the air with his sword to cut through the orb, the energy breaking apart in the face of pure light much to Riku's surprise. His eyes widen momentarily as the remnants of darkness fade away, his body straightening as he thinks to himself "I can't reflect Ganondorf's attacks? …Great, and he has chosen to make me one of his targets in order to prevent Link from sending his attacks back his way."

Becoming a little worried by this new development, Riku turns to face the King of Evil as he raises his hand into the air to summon forth more dark magic for battle. This time around Ganondorf launches three spheres Link's way, each one coming at him from a different direction as they descend, leaving the Hero of Time with no choice but to take a step forward and perform a spin attack in order to hit all three spheres at once. The dark magic is sent back to the King of Evil, who extends his arms beside him and grins while creating dark yellow sparks from his fingertips that bind the spheres together into a stronger, larger and more compressed state in front of his armored chest. When this process is complete Ganondorf moves his hands to behind the orb and pushes it forward, sending it hurtling straight back towards Link at a much faster speed.

The Hero of Time only has a few moments to sheath the Master Sword and hold his Mirror Shield in front of his body in hopes of absorbing the dark magic into the reflective surface…An action that happens at first once the sphere makes contact with it, only for the entire shield to glow brightly and crack apart across the surface, and as Ganondorf cracks a smile Link is forced to toss the shield away before it shatters and hurts him. Riku was shocked by the destruction of the Mirror Shield, but with Ganondorf's arrogance taking hold over anything else the teenage Overlord took his chance to charge forth like a shining blur and perform a swift diagonal cut through the King of Evil's body, landing on the ground in the northwestern corner of the room just a millisecond later as a scar of glowing light is drawn across Ganondorf's black aura…

When the light fades the darkness across where Riku cut vanishes, leaving an open area on the King of Evil's body for Link to attack. Ganondorf snarls, his surprise hidden well behind it as he turns his head towards the teenage Overlord at the very moment that he rises to his feet, all the while unaware of the Hero of Time pulling out his bow and an arrow beyond his gaze. Link aims steadily, making certain that he won't miss the opening in Ganondorf's aura as he infuses the tip of the arrow with the Light of the Sages. At first activation, the King of Evil senses the purity of the Sages and directs his attention away from the teenage Overlord for just a moment, which is more than enough time for Link to launch the arrow right as Riku grips his sword and turns around ready for his next attack.

The Light Arrow is fired, the purifying tip piercing straight through Ganondorf's body with enough force that the composition of the arrow is torn apart to create a vertical, radial burst of glowing golden light that drags in the darkness surrounding the King of Evil's body and converts it into pure spheres of energy that fly out in comet form from the burst and home in on Ganondorf before crashing into him and releasing a brief yet blinding flash that ends with the power-hungry Gerudo bounds in a searing aura of light that paralyzes him and forces him onto the ground on his knees, a humbling act by the Sages that does nothing but anger Ganondorf as he is forced to plant his left fist against the ground, his head poking up to the best of his ability as a grizzly scowl crosses his face.

With Ganondorf at his mercy, Riku looks over at Link and gives him a thankful nod before he sprints across both ground and air in the span of a second, drawing his sword out from his sheath with his left hand and cutting cleanly across the King of Evil's back with the full might of his katana of light, ingraining into Ganondorf both the burning scar from his attack and the indignity of knowing that he has been harmed by those he thought to be beneath him. When the pain of the Elemental Overlord's attack had subsided, Ganondorf feels the bounds of light breaking, and with full control of his body restored the King of Evil tries to salvage some of his pride and dignity as he rises back into the air and his aura of darkness is restored upon him swinging his cape aside with his right hand.

Seeing as floating above the center of the room proved to be ineffectual, Ganondorf instead opts for a different form of attack. Looking towards the teenage Overlord as he recovers from his prior sprint, the King of Evil smirks and swiftly flies towards him with his left hand glowing with violet flames. Riku senses Ganondorf's presence and turns around with his right hand ready to draw his katana, only for his neck to be gripped tightly by the King of Evil's hands as his is body swiftly lifted and pounded against the wall between two stained glass windows, though the impact proceeds to resonate across the frames and make the windows shatter, opening the way to the darkening skies outside. The violent flames glow brighter as Riku tries to lift his head away from them, his eyes looking down as Ganondorf glares into him with a smile on his face that hides his inner malice to the best of his ability.

The teenage Overlord can neither breath nor speak, the only means of oxygen being provided through his nostrils at a rather insufficient pace. As the darkness grew stronger in Ganondorf's hand and his eyes widened in ecstasy, Riku knew that there was only one way things were headed, and in his mind he thought as his pupils shrank in panic "C-Can't move my arms…Can't defend myself…" However, in the King of Evil's rush to end the Elemental Overlord's life he forgot about Link's existence, and act he would soon come to regret as the Hero of Time takes out another Light Arrow and fires it without hesitation at the side of Ganondorf's body. The arrow impacts, but doesn't have the same effect as before thanks to the King of Evil's aura. The light fizzles out, but not before grabbing Ganondorf's attention for a moment. The Gerudo glances to the right, smiling at Link's pathetic efforts without realizing that in that instance he accidentally loosened his grip on Riku's neck.

With his ability to breath temporarily restored, the teenage Overlord takes the handle of his blade and infuses it with light energy, taking it and jabbing it forward into the King of Evil's gut. Ganondorf flinches, his midsection burning up from the pain of Riku's light touching him. As Ganondorf releases his grip fully on the teenage Overlord and floats back, Riku flaps his wings once, the strong holy gale released blowing the Gerudo back above the central platform in the room. Ganondorf looks at Riku in anger, his composure slowly breaking apart as the teenage Overlord says to him with a merry smile on his face "You know, you really wouldn't be hurt as much by my attacks had you not taken what didn't belong to you." With a quick turn towards Link, Riku then says "Link, I leave things to you for the moment…Just remember what I told you before." After his words were acknowledged with a nod, Riku folded his wings and backed out through one of the now open windows, flying far enough away from Ganondorf's Castle that he would be able to see the battle without the King of Evil looking at him. Once he has positioned himself perfectly, Riku raises his katana into the air and begins to drag in all of the light energy he can into the blade, a thin swirling mesa representing all that Riku gathers into his weapon…

Back in the tower, Link puts his bow away, looking at Ganondorf as he turns away from the windows with a bitter expression still on his face because of the Hero of Time's interference. With an empowered roar, the King of Evil charges at Link after a moment of silence, his left hand raised above his head as what's left of his cape flows behind his armored figure. The Hero of Time pulls out his Hylian Shield, leaping back as Ganondorf charges at him with fist ready to strike. If Link meets this attack head-on with his shield, then it will shatter just like the Mirror Shield did, and the Hero of Time knew this all too well. So with another plan of attack on his mind, Link reaches into his tunic sneakily with his other hand and pulls out the Longshot, waiting until just the right moment to turn around and leap forward, his feet positioned towards the door as Ganondorf strikes the ground with all of his might.

The room trembles, but Link merely kicks off of the door to avoid feeling most of the disruption while Ganondorf looks up at the Hero of Time's acrobatics. With the help of his Longshot, Link is pulled along the air towards the indent just one slot below the lip of the central platform, his grip on the tool releasing so he can grab onto the slot and quickly pull himself onto solid ground. Ganondorf quickly pulls himself up and turns around to face Link, impressed yet annoyed at his foe's maneuver as he grins and floats into the air, infusing his right fist with darkness just like he did at the beginning of the battle. The Hero of Time knew what was coming, but was in no position to dodge as the King of Evil slammed his fist into the ground and released a series of shockwaves across the ground.

Link kneels down, using his shield as a means of protection as the shockwaves impact with the front of it and merely push him back to the edge of the platform. However, this was a good enough position for Link to be in on Ganondorf's side of things. With a thrust of flight through the air, the King of Evil lets out a prolonged growl as darkness collapses in his tightly clenched right fist, ending with a mighty punch that connects straight into the center of Link's shield…There is no spectacle of dark magic after that, such effects were not necessary to amplify the destruction that was about to occur…The Hero of Time is flung back across the room, his body being slammed into the wall as pieces of his now shattered shield fall onto the ground in a trail, with all that remains being the leather binds around Link's arm.

Ganondorf lifts himself up, his body levitating up into the air as his usual laughter echoes across the room while he looks down at the battered Link. The Hero of Time doesn't bend to his wounds though, his body rising up as he reaches behind him and draws his Master Sword from the regal sheath. He stands up straight and brave, his eyes glaring into the irritated pupils of Ganondorf as he points his blade at him and says "I don't care how strong you are…I won't let myself be killed by you…Not while Zelda and all of Hyrule wait to be saved…" The King of Evil couldn't believe that Link would still stay courageous against him. The Hero of Time's continued defiance angered Ganondorf, and with a slight scowl on his face he says "You will do nothing but have your bravery broken along with your body, Triforce of Courage or not!"

With a mighty roar the King of Evil takes his hands out beside his body and looks down at Link with an overconfident grin on his face, dark magic sparking between his fingertips as he creates a grandiose sphere. The entire tower trembles, the remainder of Ganondorf's cape being blown back by the wind from his expanding attack as Link grips his Master Sword with both hands and keeps a defensive stance on the ground as the King of Evil sends the dark magic straight at the Hero of Time. As a few of the tiles are dragged into the gravitational pull of the dark sphere, Link holds his sword behind his head as his determined expression is obscured by his shoulder. With one mighty swing forward, the Hero of Time slashes the center of Ganondorf's dark sphere, the holy magic infused into the Master Sword creating an arc of light through the air before the King of Evil's attack is sent right back at him.

With his eyes widening and his arrogance fading away into a surprised scowl, Ganondorf is struck by his own dark magic, his body becoming struck with a strong paralysis that traps him helplessly in the air as Link wastes no time in sheathing his blade and drawing out a bow and arrow, aiming it at the angered King of Evil as light is charged into the tip of the arrow. One shot is thrust through the air, the sharp tip piercing into Ganondorf's body just like before and binding him in a glowing field of light. Now that Ganondorf was kneeling in such an undignified manner, Link immediately thought of jumping over to the center platform and attacking him with the Master Sword, especially seeing as he wouldn't have to worry about the King of Evil's physical advantage like Riku warned him about.

However, as he took one step forward to attack, a powerful breeze blows against his body, his hair being brushed to the right as his eyes flinch briefly in shock. It doesn't take long though for Link to realize what is going on, as one of the stained glass windows to the right of him is blown apart, followed in turn by the rest of them across the wall as a big glowing gash is formed along the air, part of it crossing Ganondorf's body as the King of Evil's binds are slowly undone…From there, the Gerudo only has one second to lift his head up and see what was happening before the gash is ingrained into his body, a painful holy cut that tears into his very flesh and soul and causes him to experience pain unlike anything he has ever felt before in his entire life…Because before this day, nobody had ever harmed him…

He raises his arms into the air, his body reacting all on its own as he lets out a piercing roar and clenches his fists tightly, the only reason that he is even alive being the Triforce of Power that radiates brightly on his right hand. As Link notices the King of Evil's reaction to this sudden attack, he feels another breeze passing by him, only this time he takes a moment to pay attention and see that Riku is the one responsible for this assault on Ganondorf. The teenage Overlord performs a continuous series of powerful strikes that take him through the windows of Ganondorf's Castle, his movements being precise enough that he will never harm Link in the slightest while simultaneously showing Ganondorf himself not a single iota of mercy. Each blow comes at a slower pace, but the effects on the King of Evil become clear as the Gerudo slowly clenches his chest with his right fist and glares over at the Hero of Time.

Despite knowing just who is responsible for this assault, Ganondorf can only bring himself to curse the Hylian for what has happened to him, his blind anger coming to a threshold as Riku's attack nears its end and his body lands down beside Link's…With a raspy pant and his body filled with glowing scars that will never heal no matter how much the Triforce of Power tries, Ganondorf exclaims in disbelief "The Great Evil King Ganondorf…beaten by these kids?!" He was stuttering, his mind unable to grasp the concept of defeat after all that he had done to get this far, and after removing his fist from his chest Ganondorf yells out with a gasp of heavy breath "Link….!" The King of Evil then looks at his two hands with a devastated expression, his fists tightly clenching as he draws on every last bit of magic left in his body, letting out a ghastly, echoing roar as he stands up and his body becomes covered in a slowly growing veil of dark magic.

The tower trembles, and Link looks back and forth as the remainder of the stained glass windows and the walls surrounding are slowly disintegrated as the room is filled with a bright light. The King of Evil's mighty spectacle goes on for a good while before the light fades and the top of the tower is left as nothing more than desolate ruins with the darkened skies as a backdrop. Ganondorf stands at the center of the tower, his defeated body falling onto its knees and then face first against the ground in front of the two heroes. Link steps forward, looking down at the King of Evil for a moment in pity before a radiant fills the sky and the crystal Zelda was trapped in descends from the sky above, the magic being undone as the proud Princess is released in front of the heroes.

Instead of looking towards her heroes though, Zelda turns her head and looks at Ganondorf, her glare expressing both pity and anger at the Gerudo as she says "Ganondorf…such a pitiful man…Without a strong, righteous mind, he could not control the power of the gods…" Riku, upon hearing Zelda out, remembers that he needs to draw his darkness out of the King of Evil's body and begins to walk around the Princess to reach the King of Evil, only for him to pause as a massive tremor shakes the very foundation of this castle. Zelda turns towards the two heroes, Riku glaring down at Ganondorf with his mind cursing him for this action as the Princess exclaims in urgency "Link, listen to me! This tower will collapse soon! With his last breath, Ganondorf is trying to crush us in the ruins of this tower! We need to hurry and escape! Please, follow me!"

Zelda runs towards the ramp at the side of the tower with Link following close behind. Riku takes one last look at Ganondorf, scowling at the fact that the retrieval of his darkness element will be prolonged because he has to go ensure the Triforce wielders' safety, and with a kick off the ground the teenage Overlord flies off to be by the side of the heroes. Their descent is swift, as the heroes dodge debris and smoldering rocks while winding around the circumference and innards of the castle, moving closer and closer as the destruction becomes stronger and the tremors more frequent as they near the very bottom. With one passing of the metal gate thanks to Zelda's magic, the heroes find themselves standing outside the backside of the castle as the place enters the final stage of destruction.

The pathway around the edge of the castle is the first to fall apart, the crumbling stone falling against the rooftop of the outer wall and breaking it down, while the four black stone towers lean towards the magma pit and crash into its molten form, burning apart bit by bit as the remainder of the castle sinks into the ground, the resounding noises of Ganondorf's ending reign of terror echoing across all of Hyrule as the three heroes at the epicenter of this event hold their arms up to avoid being clobbered by the debris and dust flying from the sides of the collapsing castle. When the cloud of black and grey dust subsided, all that remains of the vile structure is a few walls piled up in the center of this domain along with other assorted landmarks around the edge.

Zelda breathes a heavy sigh of relief, her left hand placed against her chest as she says to the other heroes "It's over…It's finally over…" Riku steps forward past the two Triforce wielders as they turn to look at each other with merry smiles on their faces, while Navi flies above them and exclaims in an apologetic tone "Link…I'm sorry I couldn't help you in the battle before!" But as the Hero of Time was about ready to acknowledge his companion's remark, the ground is pounded by a violent rumble coming from afar, causing Link to spring to life and push ahead of Princess Zelda as she lets out a horrified gasp and he holds his right arm out as a way to keep her back. The noise came from the pile of walls, and Link couldn't help but notice how suspiciously undeterred Riku was at the moment.

"Stay here Zelda…I need to go check this out." Link says, his voice ripe with concern as he runs on ahead and joins the teenage Overlord by his side to check on the rubble. With their bodies only a few feet away, a wall of hardened fire spawns around the circumference of the ruins, cutting the two heroes off from Princess Zelda much to Link's shock and horror. The Hero of Time turns to face the rubble, and in an instant the pile is broken apart into hundreds of pieces that go hurtling into the magma as Ganondorf rises out with a pulsating aura of darkness. He was releasing palpitating breaths, his eyes glowing a demonic pale yellow as he looks down at the two heroes with the untamed fury of a thousand monsters. He had lost all control of his thoughts, becoming nothing more than a mindless, levitating shell of a Gerudo as he takes his right fist and holds it in front of his body, the Triforce of Power glowing brightly before the darkness surrounding him surges into the symbol and turns it darker in color.

With his breathes slowing down to a sudden halt, Ganondorf spreads his limbs apart, becoming suspended in place as he lets out the most violent roar he could muster and he becomes covered in a blinding, pale blue aura. From the dark magic granted to him by the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf begins to transform, his body becoming more monstrous in both size in appearance as the once human body is replaced with a bipedal, pig-like creature who is mostly shrouded by the darkening skies and crashing lightning. The most that Link and Riku can see of this creature is the sharp, golden tusks protruding from the sides of his head along with the tattered remains of his clothes scattered across his swamp-blue body. In his hands are two golden broadswords, each one towering over the heroes as the beast swings them around and snarls, and in an attempt to block one of the blows Link is shocked as the monster once known as Ganondorf knocks the Master Sword from his grip and sends it hurtling out of the arena close to where Zelda lies.

As Link stares back in shock, Riku thinks to himself while gripping onto his sword as tightly as possible "Damn it all…This shouldn't have happened!" Ganon looks down at the two heroes, his swords gripped in his beastly hands as without warning, a black ooze leaks out from his spine, and after a few seconds the ooze covers the upper part of Ganon's body in a disjointed manner. In turn, the beast's eyes become a dark yellow color, and the teenage Overlord knows that this slight change in appearance was a result of his own darkness. Things were getting worse by the second, but Link didn't let himself get fazed in the slightest despite what happened to the Master Sword. Navi flies around him, proclaiming with confidence "There's no way he's going to hold me back again! This time, we fight together!" Riku turns towards Link, who in a second looks at him and says with the courageous smile he has come to expect from the Hero of Time "Come on Riku, lets put an end to Ganondorf for good!" The teenage Overlord chuckles slightly, once again finding himself surprised by Link's bravery as he turns towards Ganon alongside his Hylian friend, the two of them staring into the maddened eyes of the beast as he points his blades high into the air and lets out a raspy roar before slouching forward and preparing himself for combat against his prey…

_Next Time: Triforce Showdown_


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Ganon**

Link takes a few steps back, knowing full well that without the Master Sword he shouldn't try to get within physical range of the beast. He would instead provide support from far away with the Light Arrows while Riku combated Ganon from the skies. The teenage Overlord flies back away from one of Ganon's mighty swings, the front of his robe nearly nicked by the tip of the blade before he gets a chance to use his katana to block the attack. A bolt of lightning crashes down upon the battlefield behind the enraged beast, revealing its haunting appearance in full for a brief second as Riku lights his blade with holy energy and swings it towards the head of the monster without hesitation. An arc of light is released, the glowing crescent cutting across the air only to be met with the violent swinging of Ganon's swords, which cuts apart the light and sends a powerful gust of wind that pushes against the front of Riku's wings and sends him a few inches backwards through the air.

As Ganon lowers his arms, he is struck in the face with a Light Arrow from Link, the black ooze fizzling away around it as he slowly turns towards the Hero of Time without looking even the slightest bit fazed. But his attention was now diverted towards Link, and with a slight growl Ganon charged towards the Hero of Time like the rampaging bull he was with swords dragging along the ground beside him and his head held down in front of him. He planned to impale the Hylian with his tusks, but while Riku was around this action would only prove to be futile. After quickly ascending higher into the sky, the teenage Overlord curves his flight to flip himself upside-down as he ends up right above Ganon, his sword grasped in both hands as he comes down like a shining comet with the relative force of one of the beast's powerful blows backing his descending assault.

The beastly King of Evil is struck hard in the back, his body being pinned against the ground a second later as all of his momentum is killed in an instant. A plume of dirt erupts around Ganon's body as the creature lets out a shrill screech of pain, and a bright field of light emerges from behind the plume the very moment Riku contacts with the monster's body. As the dirt falls down, the teenage Overlord leaps away off of Ganon's body while Link quickly takes another arrow from his quiver and fires it right in between the monster's eyes the very moment that they open back up. This was a diversionary tactic, as the blinding light released from the arrow allows Link to run out of Ganon's field of vision as the monster is busy recovering from the white veil that has covered his eyes.

Ganon shrieks again in pain as the Hero of Time moves behind one of the fallen towers of the King of Evil's former castle, taking only one peek out as he loads another arrow into the bow and sees the beast rise up with the help of his swords, the entirety of the last few seconds being nothing more than a nuisance to him than anything else. Riku falls back from Ganon's sight as the beast turns around, while Link raises his eyebrows out of curiosity upon noticing a possible weak point in the form of Ganon's tail. The Hero of Time then pulls back behind the tower, keeping himself perfectly hidden for the time being as he takes only one glance towards the outside of the ring of fire, focusing more on Zelda's fear struck expression instead of on the Master Sword before he looks down towards his bow and thinks to himself "Hang in there Zelda…We'll finish this up soon…"

Riku, on the other hand, is thinking to himself about another matter entirely, and the source of his worries turns his attention towards his flying figure and lets out a low-pitched growl before it folds its swords in front of its chest and walks forward slowly to confront the Elemental Overlord. Riku, despite his cautiously raised eyebrows, wasn't too concerned about Ganon's advance considering the height advantage he had. As the beastly King of Evil moved forward and lighting struck with each step he took, Riku had an idea, but wanted to run it by a particular someone before he executed it. With his thoughts focused on a particular elemental wavelength, the teenage Overlord said in his mind "Rauru, can you hear me?"

The Sage of Light is surprised that Riku has managed to contact him, but responds in a reserved tone with _"How did you manage to contact me, Elemental Overlord?" _"Well I figured since you are connected to the Light it would be easy to communicate with you through that element…That's not important right now though, I need to ask you something." Riku responds as Ganon stops in place below him, his head raised with a ghastly stare pointed his way as the beast becomes suspiciously silent. _"I would assume it has to do with the King of Evil's beastly transformation…" _"Yeah…I was wondering if Demise's consciousness would be released if Link used the Master Sword just to strike at Ganon's skin." Rauru takes a pause, thinking deeply about Riku's idea as the teenage Overlord looks down and flinches in horror as with the assistance of the black ooze connected to his body, Ganon grows a pair of boney wings and leaps into the air, sustaining flight despite the brittleness of the wings in comparison to his muscular body as he raises his swords above his body and swings them towards the teenage Overlord's neck, Riku barely surviving the attack by lifting his katana up to guard against the blow.

However, the slanted position of his body means that when the swords connect, Riku is sent hurtling down into the ground, a sharp pain being thrust through his spine thanks to a pointed rock puncturing the center of his back that just so happened to lie where he landed. The teenage Overlord tries to survive through the pain, an option he had little choice in making seeing as Ganon was descending with his swords pointed downward ready to carve into his body. With a tumble to the right that dirties his angelic wings, the rock is dislodged from his spine and Riku is able to push himself back onto his feet with a single act of levitation. He quickly puts a seal of light in the leaking wound, preventing further problems for the time being as he thinks to Rauru "Do you have an answer yet? I'm actually having a bit of trouble here…"

The teenage Overlord stares towards the beast as it turns around after landing, its swords pulled from the ground as with a glowing, hungered glare Ganon growls again and appears ready for another assault _"Yes…With the way the King of Evil is now, it would take a direct blow to his skull for Demise's consciousness to be awoken…May I know just why you asked this?" _"I can't defeat Ganon alone…But he seems to be focused on just one of us at a time, so if both Link and I fight him we will win without any problems." _"Very well…We will see what we can do about the ring of fire Ganondorf created before he was transformed by the Triforce of Power, so just work on stalling the beast for now."_ With those parting words from Rauru, Riku looks up at Ganon as the beast's monstrous appearance actually made him feel a bit intimidated, his heart beating at a faster pace as he cocks a half-assed grin and thinks to himself "Easier said than done, Rauru…"

Ganon swings his swords down, the ground rupturing as Riku leaps out of the way of the attack and kicks into the air, flying a fair distance away despite his advantage there having been lost thanks to the beast's secondary transformation. After dragging his swords out of the ground Ganon turns towards the teenage Overlord and flies after him, his arms held out beside his body as the wings on his back flap slowly. Riku glances over his left shoulder, letting out a light "Tch!" before turning around and swinging his katana to send three strong crescent beam of light at the beast. Projectile attacks were his only option, as getting close to the monstrous King of Evil was tantamount to suicide. Thankfully, the teenage Overlord's three attacks hit Ganon's unprotected face square on, each projectile exploding in a burst of raw light that leaves the beast temporarily stunned and thus rendering Riku's previous concerns moot for one follow-up attack.

Spinning the katana around before positioning it horizontally in front of his chest, the teenage Overlord glides his left palm along the blade, compressing a pale yellow glow around it until the halfway point, where the color shifts to a translucent blue hue that brightens the area around Riku's body as a lightning bolt flashes an ominous light across the skies. With his attack fully charged, the teenage Overlord sprints across the air towards Ganon as the beast nearly regains his full consciousness, only to be met with Riku's holy slash, which carves down the center of his beastly body with so much force that he is thrust back towards the ground where he rightfully belongs, and as Ganon impacts feet first and skids a few inches back the teenage Overlord smirks merrily as he keeps the pose brought on by the end of his swing for a few moments.

The source of his expression is Link, who takes aim at the unguarded tail of Ganon and fires a powerful Light Arrow through the air, the purifying tip impaling itself into the beast's glowing crimson tail in an unfathomable amount of force. The tail proves to be Ganon's weakest point, for as soon as the light radiates from the impact zone of the arrow the beast falls forward, a painful, raspy shriek emerging from its lips as its quickly plants its left sword into the ground to support himself, the right one laying adjacent to the floor as Ganon turns his head to the left and stares in contempt at the Hero of Time for what he had just done. Not only was he weakened, but because of that the ring of fire soon sinks into the ground. Now Link had a perfect chance to pick up the Master Sword, the urgency of the matter being planted into his head by Zelda's declaration of his name.

Thus after putting the bow away for the time being, the Hero of Time runs towards the sword of evil's bane, pulling it from the ground and gripping it in both hands as he turns towards the Princess and says to her "Please stay safe back here Zelda, just get ready to seal Ganondorf away for good." The Princess smiles and nods her head, her hands folded before her chest with her hopeful prayers going towards her hero as he charges back into battle with the rising Ganon, the ring of fire returning to darken the atmosphere as the beast rears its head into the air and roars, its arms extended beside its body as Link charges towards him with a determined expression on his face. Ganon, amidst its rage and insanity, curses the Hero of Time for being a continued thorn in his side and turns to face him, his tail swinging and brushing aside a remnant of his tower as Link leaps into the air to face him head-on.

Ganon swings his right sword towards the Hero of Time, the blade carving apart the very air itself as it inches closer to its target to slash him in two. But Riku proved himself to be a valuable asset to this battle once more, for a single flap of his wings he kicks across the air like a bullet, appearing in the path of the sword and using his katana and the full might of his light infused into the blade to block the attack, causing the golden broadsword to grind against the diamond and create a flurry of sparks as Riku grits his teeth while keeping his defense solid. Thanks to this, Link is able to descend without interference, the Master Sword cutting across Ganon's face and body before the Hero of Time lands and watches as a green blood leaks out from the gash he put on the beast's skin.

The pain Ganon is enduring is strong, but nothing compared to the damage inflicted upon his tail. The beast shrieks in pain, his body tumbling back as he tries to keep a grip on his swords and the Triforce of Power works to heal his wound. Once stable, Ganon looks at the grounded Hero of Time without any regards to the Elemental Overlord and lunges his head forward, charging on ahead and using his horns to strike at Link's defensive stance, the Hero of Time being pushed along the ground by the strength of the rampaging beast as Zelda lets out a scream of panic upon noticing that Ganon is pressing Link towards the ring of fire, an act that would end in the Hero of Time being burned to cinders. Riku takes notice of this, his body turning to face the mighty beast as it is only moments away from accomplishing its gruesome task.

With quick thinking, the teenage Overlord swings his sword through the air, sending a crescent wave of light that travels faster than the bull and cuts a gap into the ring of fire that's big enough for Link to be pushed through. After Ganon knocks the Hero of Time off of the platform and watches as he falls towards the magma pit while Zelda's heart nearly stops in shock, Riku speeds above the beastly King of Evil's head, his katana being sheathed as he thrusts his hands downward, his eyelids closing as he puts an unfathomable amount of focus towards the path that Link descends down. Etching into the air a cube of solidified light, Riku catches the Hero of Time halfway through, but upon landing back first against the platform something unforeseen occurs.

Emerging from his tunic is a series of items that Link had acquired throughout his journey, such as the Lens of Truth, Silver Gauntlets, Longshot, his entire supply of Bombs, and his two other Tunics…But as the Hero of Time turned to the side and looked at the items as he is pulled up back to the field of battle, he tries futilely to grab the one item he never wished to lose…It was the small, wood brown Ocarina that Saria had given to him at the very start of his quest, and even after acquiring the Ocarina of Time he never once considered tossing the Fairy Ocarina and all of the memories it held away…But now it fell through the air, moving ever closer to its destruction as Link's eyelids begin to sink in melancholy, and slowly stood up on the platform Riku created for him as he closes his eyes fully and hears a large explosion coming from the magma pit because of the Bombs that fell.

All the Hero of Time had left now was the bow and his supply of arrows, the alternate pairs of Boots, and the Megatone Hammer…His arsenal may have decreased, but this event has done nothing more than fueled Link's courageous desire to end Ganondorf's reign. Riku speaks to him as the platform rises by his side "Link, I'm going to drop you back onto the-" "Keep me on this platform." The Hero of Time says bluntly to his friend as he stares with a tranquil expression of anger on his face towards Ganon, his hands working to load another arrow into his bow while the teenage Overlord simply nods his head out of respect of Link's wishes. He then turns towards the battlefield where Ganon has been waiting to continue the fight, the ring of fire he created ironically preventing him from giving chase to the airborne heroes.

Riku tries to stay focused on the platform he created, using his katana to cut open yet another gap into the ring while simultaneously striking Ganon with enough force to push him away from the barrier as he uses his swords to defend against the attack. Riku flies back into the battlefield, using his powers to carry Link's platform along with him as the Hero of Time silently pulls back on the string and charges up a Light Arrow, firing it straight into Ganon's face the moment the beast puts his arms down. A burst of holy light covers the monster's body, a shriek of pain emerging from his lips as Link wastes no time in readying another Light Arrow, firing it at Ganon before the beast is allowed even a second of time to recover. The Hero of Time continues his relentless barrage of Light Arrows, his expression remaining tranquil as Riku finds himself shocked to see Link being so merciless to Ganon…Even though the man the beast once was did deserve everything that was happening to him.

With the arrows keeping Ganon from doing anything and his body being forced to take a step back with each shot that impacted with his face, Riku charges forth, waiting for a gap between Link's arrows to take his katana and attack the black wings on Ganon's back. He goes for the right one first, one clean cut being all it takes to rip the black, boney wing away from the rest of the beast. After a quick turn around the teenage Overlord goes for the other wing, cutting it off in the exact same manner and robbing the beast of his ability to fly. From there, Link fires another Light Arrow into Ganon's face, this being the last of him as his quiver has run unexpectedly dry. But this final shot proved to be more than enough to finally end this battle, as with a roar more quiet than the rest Ganon raises its arms into the air, its body pulling back before falling forward onto the ground, this time around its swords unable to be used as support as it lies panting in place as the ring of fire falls and Link leaps down from off of the platform of light as it fades away.

Riku stares down at the fallen Ganon, his body descending beside Link as with a simple thought he changes back to his base form and keeps his blade hovering beside his body as an extension of his right hand. The teenage Overlord then thinks to himself "Finally…We can put an end to this battle…And in the end Demise will never…" Suddenly, a beam of translucent light is thrust out from the right, striking the fallen Ganon and inflicting an endless amount of pain through his body to the point of paralyzing him in place. Riku and Link turn towards where the beam came from, finding Zelda standing a few feet away with her arms extended and the beam fizzling out from the palms as she exclaims to the Hero of Time "I'm using my power to hold the Evil King! Link, use your sword and deliver the final blow!"

As the Princess' magic spell comes to an end, Zelda pulls back, her body then leaning forward as she places one hand on her chest from exhaustion. Meanwhile, the blade of the Master Sword glows brightly in Link's hand, the light inviting the Hero of Time to deliver the final blow as it was destined to…But Riku interpreted the light differently, making an assumption that a small part of Demise's consciousness was deceiving Link to attack and release him, something that could not be allowed to happen no matter the cost. In panic, the teenage Overlord thinks as a means of communicating to Rauru "You didn't tell Zelda about Demise?! Rauru, we can't-" Riku's eyes widen halfway through his sentence, as he realizes that without his Light form he couldn't mentally speak to the Sage of Light anymore.

Desperation then takes hold as he lifts his head up and watches as Link swings his sword to the side, his desire to end Ganondorf's reign overriding all other thoughts as he begins to run forward towards the fallen Ganon ready to deal the final blow. The teenage Overlord, hesitating for just one second as he tries to quickly think of a way to brush Link aside without garnering suspicion, is forced to discard those thoughts as he realizes that without this final blow Ganondorf could not be sealed away…Riku runs ahead, trying to get in front of Link and stop him as he tries to think of an alternate solution, his mind focusing partially on his sword as he repeats in a panic "Come on, change me back into my Light form!" Three times over with no results.

With his teeth grit in panic, the teenage Overlord knew had only one hope of stopping Demise's return, and as Zelda watches on in confusion of Riku's actions the Hero of Time plunges the Master Sword right into Ganon's head. The beast becomes motionless in an instant, his eyes pulling back into his head as Riku repeats in his head the word "No!" each utterance becoming more desperate and worried as he runs beside Link and pushes him out of the way with the back of his right hand the moment the Master Sword is pulled out, his own sword being lunged into the slit as Link stands in place and says in bewilderment "Riku, what are you doing?" The teenage Overlord, drenched in a cold sweat brought on by utter fear, yells in a upset panic towards his friend "Be quiet Link, I need to concentrate!"

The Hero of Time flinches in surprise at Riku's sudden outburst, but the teenage Overlord fails to notice this as all of his efforts go towards using the blade forged from his very soul to drag out every bit of darkness that Ganondorf managed to steal from him. His plan was to work at such a pace that Demise's consciousness wouldn't have enough time to fester in the darkness and awaken. After a few quiet moment, the teenage Overlord manages to recover his darkness, though the combination of stress and this act has left him feeling very tired as he pulls his sword out of Ganon's head and takes a few steps back, panting tiredly as his weapon vanishes with a thought and Link says to his friend "Oh yeah…I forgot about your darkness, Riku…That was just about to be sealed away with Ganondorf had you not intervened."

The teenage Overlord turns towards Link and smiles to the best of his ability, while before the two heroes and Princess the beastly Ganon loses all traces of darkness that covered his body, a dark yellow glow covering him as the Triforce of Power appears on his right hand and changes him back into the form of the lowly King of Evil, his body lying unconscious on the ground as Riku and the Hero of Time share a triumphant sigh of relief. The battle was finally over, and peace would be restored to Hyrule the moment the Sages seal Ganondorf away. Zelda looks up towards the sky with a smile, saying to the Sages "Rauru, its time to put the Evil King away for-" Before her sentence comes to an end, something disrupts her focus, causing her to look down at Ganondorf as she is shocked to see that the Triforce of Power is changing color from its brisk golden shade to that of a hellish, crimson hue.

Riku senses an uprising of darkness coming from the King of Evil, his heart skipping a beat as his smile is replaced with a look of panic and he turns to look at Ganondorf, Link himself following suit just a moment later. The Gerudo's body rises up off the ground like a puppet, his arms limping in front of him for a few seconds before the right fingers twitch and the Triforce of Power glows, summoning forth from a rend of darkness a jagged sword with a reddish-brown blade and an upside-down lighter colored Triforce hanging just above the dark grey, demon wing crested handle. The King of Evil spreads his fingers out, a moment later grasping around the handle of this newly formed blade as his body is straightened out, a ring of fire much bigger than the prior one encircling the platform, with its light bathing his body in shadow as he stands on the ground and slowly creaks his eyes open to reveal an ominous, dark red glow within. Lightning crashes down at random locations outside of the battlefield, while Riku stands in place and realizes that his greatest fears on this world have become reality…Behind the body of the King of Evil stood an ethereal copy of the Demon King himself, Demise, his towering visage being more nightmarish in reality than it was in the dreams the teenage Overlord experienced. Link and Zelda did not know what was going on, for even if they were able to see the spirit of Demise lingering behind Ganondorf they would have no feasible way of recognizing him. However, the same could not be said for Demise…Through the eyes of his new body the Demon King surveyed the darkened landscape bathed in fire, feeling the might of the Triforce of Power flowing through this host as he recognizes the warrior in the green tunic and the blonde-haired Princess, saying to them in a polite yet partially foreboding tone _"It has been so long…Link…As it has also been since our last meeting, Goddess Hylia…" _

_Next Time: Fated Conclusion_


	30. Final Chapter

**Final Chapter: Demise;Decline**

Riku's heart was beating at an abnormal pace, his body frozen stiff as his eyes twitched and his hands hung in place beside his hips. He looked into the glowing eyes of Ganondorf, the memories of those once past nightmares echoing inside his mind as the present reality robs him of all courage and willpower…The fact that he drained most of his energy to get his darkness back from the King of Evil's soul did little to help his situation. "A-After all I did…D-Demise has still returned…" The teenage Overlord thinks to himself between his nightmarish memories, his mental tone reeking of guilt as he sees Demise's looming presence behind the Gerudo's body. "Where did it all go wrong…" Was all Riku could ask himself as he harkens back to a time when he and Link managed to follow the events that were written in Hyrule's history from the point of view of those from Earth…All those travels seem so futile now knowing what the end result was.

As Riku stands out of sight from a unnerved Zelda and a stalwart Link, the Hero of Time swings his Master Sword beside himself and stares towards the now possessed Ganondorf after it spoke in a different voice, the being responsible for it showing a clear recognition towards him and the Princess despite the different name he used for Zelda. Without so much as a single sign of being unhinged, the Hero of Time said to the mysterious voice "Who are you?" In Ganondorf's body, the consciousness of Demise stirred, wiggling the fingers of his new body's left hand as he kept the expression of the once mighty Gerudo king stoic and replied to Link with _"Do you not recognize me? Hmm…The blade you wield is the same if a little faded, but on second glance your appearance is quite different…But there is no denying that green tunic and warrior's stance…I suppose you are simply a different Link than the one I remember."_

Turning his head towards the Princess, Demise then says in a regretful tone _"Alas, this means that you are not the mortal incarnation of the Goddess Hylia…Perhaps though, you are a descendant?"_ Zelda doesn't respond, and instead she tightly clenches around her right hand with her left to hide the Triforce of Wisom, whose glow has become painful for her ever since Demise first appeared. The consciousness of Demise causes Ganondorf's body to raise an eyebrow, curious to the lack of response from Zelda as he then says _"It seems that you aren't knowledgeable on the subject…That's both curious and a pity…" _Link, somewhat infuriated by the lack of an answer to his question, says "I'll ask you again…Who are you?!"

Demise turns towards the Hero of Time, relegating to his tone as brave and fool hearted in his mind as he responds to him with _"Do not steel your tongue when you do not even know who you speak to. I am Demise, the King of all Demons that had residence in Hyrule when it was first birthed on this once corpse-like planet…Long ago, I sought the Triforce that the three goddesses had granted to their champion, the Goddess Hylia, and led my armies into battle to claim it…Only to be sealed away in a shell of flesh as sharp as my skin and dark as the skies that once bathed Hyrule…But the day came when the mortal incarnation of the Goddess was offered to me by the living essence of my sword, Ghirahim, and by leeching off of her soul I was revived…Only to be swiftly slain by the first wielder of the Master Sword, a brave man who also went by the name of Link…"_

"_However, in the final moments before my consciousness was sealed away in the Master Sword by that accursed spirit Fi, I used my magic to curse all future reincarnations of the Goddess Hylia and Link to feel the wrath of an incarnation of my hatred forevermore…" _Looking down at his left fist as he clenches it tightly while cursing the previous Link's efforts, Demise takes a look at his new body and says to those standing before him _"Judging by what I can sense though…It seems I have gained control over that very incarnation. And I can tell just by being here that this man despises you with an almost unimaginable passion…Fitting, if I do say so myself." _Demise looks away from his body, his head turning towards the continually fear-struck Riku, who upon being glanced at by the Demon King flinches in horror at what the man might be planning to do with him.

"…_I do not recognize you…Or rather, I do not recognize the body. However, I do believe I have met the one whose darkness lies inside of you at the moment…Hmm, I wouldn't suspect that he is conscious though if you are still moving on your own free will, child." _ After speaking to the stiff Elemental Overlord without acknowledging his role, Demise looks back at his body, musing on the situation with _"Hmmm…I do not know how I came to inhabit this body…But there is something rather…Interesting about it besides its connection to me." _Lifting the arms of the Gerudo king beside himself as he looks back and forth at them, Demise tries to find the origin of the strange power that inhabits this body, his search taking him mere seconds before he seems a welcoming glow coming from the back of his right hand, at which point Riku grits his teeth and his eyes widen in panic as Demise lowers his arm and takes notice of the Triforce of Power.

"_Well now…Is this what I think it is?" _Demise says, his consciousness forcing Ganondorf's body to crack a foreboding smile on his face before he continues on with _"Now this is a pleasant way to return to the world of the living…It seems that my incarnation managed to acquire a fragment of the Triforce…More specifically…" _Demise moves his arm back down to the side of his body, flexing a little bit of his consciousness in order to use the Triforce fragment's great power in conjunction with his demonic magic, and from a ring around his feet a shockwave of sheer pressure is pushed along the ground. The shockwave tears apart the ground as it moves, striking against the legs of the two heroes and Princess Zelda and flinging them through the air towards the ring of fire, their bodies crash landing on their sides and backs as the Master Sword is dislodged from Link's grip.

This small display of power intrigues Demise, his smile becoming more malicious in nature as he holds his hand before his chest once more while keeping his sword at level and examining the Triforce of Power. _"So this is what the Triforce of Power is capable of…"_ Looking up at the destruction he caused with just a little bit of exertion, Demise watches as Link and Zelda try to rise to their feet, the Hero of Time showing more of a struggle because of prior wounds against Ganondorf and Ganon that forced him to use the Master Sword as a means of support until he stood up straight and faced the grinning Demon King. Riku, however, stayed on the ground his eyes still widened in fear of what has occurred as his mouth now becomes slightly agape and his arms and legs lie against the ground.

The Demon King looks at Link and Zelda, noticing the clearly visible fragments of the Triforce glowing painfully on their hands as he lowers his smile and says to them _"My incarnation was but a fool…With the limitless power of this fragment of the Triforce in his possession there is no way that he should have failed to obtain the full Triforce from even you two…But I am a broader thinker, and will use the Triforce of Power to the full extent of my ability in order to tear the Trifroce of Courage and Wisdom from your bodies and unite them…And with them I will usher in a new age of demon kind, ruining the land of Hyrule and returning it to the ash covered wasteland that we thrived in long before the goddesses interfered…" _As Demise finishes his boast, he lowers his arms and looks at Link, a coy smile crossing his face as he says to him specifically _"However…"_

Through his new body, Demise extends his left hand out in front of him politely, expressing to the Hero of Time _"As your predecessor was the one to slay me in battle, I will admit I hold a little begrudging respect towards him…And I wish to share that same amount of respect towards you. If the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom are surrendered to me willingly, I will spare your lives and let you abandon Hyrule…" _Link's eyebrows slant in fury and disbelief towards Demise's suggestion, and with his sharp tongue he replies bluntly with "I will not let you turn Hyrule into your own demonic paradise!" Retracting his arm slowly while letting out a light sigh as though he knew that Link would respond in such a manner, Demise proceeds to say _"Of course…I wouldn't expect the lap dog of the Six Sages to say anything else…"_

Opening his eyelids at a snail's pace, the inner glow within breaks through the darkness created by the ring of fire and peers into the brave eyes of the Hero of Time as Demise says to him in a intimidating tone that discards all traces of formality _"Then I would assume that there are no regrets in your life? If there are, make peace with them now, for your life has become forfeit." _Demise grips his sword tightly, the might of the Triforce of Power flowing through the veins of his inhabited body as he grins and waits for Link to charge him head on, a foolish act that would surely seal his fate. However, what he wasn't expecting was for the Hero of Time to turn to the mysterious boy lying on the ground and declare to him urgently "Riku, get up! We can take Demise together." The Demon King found Link's confidence in his victory beside the mysterious boy to be a rather curious thing, and with a second to ponder the whole ordeal thus far Demise does find it rather odd that the boy appeared to recognize and fear him despite the feeling of recognition not being mutual for him.

Riku turns his head towards Link, thinking in his mind that his friend was placing too much faith in their victory without any knowledge of what type of monster Demise truly was, both in appearance and on the field of battle. But could he really just lay back and let himself be paralyzed by fear when Link was so willing to still fight? No…He couldn't. Discarding all pretenses of fear and putting on a face as brave as the Hero of Time's, the teenage Overlord nods his head and pulls himself to his feet with his flight powers, drawing his sword out with whatever energy he has left as the Demon King looks back and forth at the two warriors, a grin crossing his face before he says to them _"Make your last stand now…For even with every last bit of strength you will never move me from this spot." _

With brave hearts the two heroes charge at Demise, taking their blades and swinging at the Demon King's new body with all of their might as Demise doesn't even flinch with every bit of steel that makes contact with the Gerudo's skin. He is an unflinching wall, whose only action throughout the onslaught of attacks is to close his eyelids and let out an annoyed sigh through his nostrils. The teenage Overlord notices this after solid swing, and as he lands on the ground he pants twice and grits his teeth while thinking to himself "We can't do anything to him…I'm too exhausted to go back into Light form and Link is out of arrows…Not even the Master Sword, the blade designed to cut down evil in all forms, can do anything to Demise now that he possessed the body of the wielder of the Triforce of Power…"

But despite the impossible odds Link continues to attack the Demon King, his sword never being drawn back for even a second as it slashes at the body time after time again. Riku stands up, finding the Hero of Time's actions to be foolish and wasteful, even if his purpose is pure. "I-I have to figure out a way to seal Demise…No…Only the Sages can do that…But only if the Demon King loses his control over the Triforce of Power…But there's not way to rob him of that now…What can any of us hope to do to escape Demise's wrath?" This conundrum tugs at Riku's mind to an abnormal extent, bringing back to the surface the feelings of stress and agony that plagued him just moments ago. Link's bravery couldn't project onto him nearly enough to stop his concerns, and with the doubt in his mind he loses focus on his sword and it vanishes within seconds.

The teenage Overlord turns his head to the right to look at a praying Zelda as he begins to step away from the Demon King, the melancholy atmosphere becoming nearly apocalyptic in nature as Demise opens his eyelids and glances at the Hero of Time, who leaps into the air ready to bring his sword down upon the head of the Demon King. With but another exertion of the Triforce fragment's power, a barrier of sheer pressure appears around Demise to block the Master Sword, and Link's body merely floats in place for a few seconds before the Demon King expands the circumference of his barrier outward in the span of a second. The pressure quietly tears apart the ground once more, and both Link and Riku are flung back across the air as a powerful rupture suddenly tears itself across the air and a demonic shriek fills the ears of those who once stood peacefully in Hyrule.

The destruction inflicted upon the battlefield throws the teenage Overlord onto his gut, his body battered across jagged and torn up masses of solid rock and metal that damages his ensemble immensely. He is still conscious, albeit barely, but most of his muscles have gone numb from the pain dealt upon them. As Riku tries to creak his eyelids open, he recognizes this very pain from his nightmares along with the pose his body currently is in and widens his eyes, his denial of the nightmare becoming a reality being repeated near ad infinitum in his mind through a few words "This can't be real…" Each utterance becoming more desperate in nature as he lifts his head up almost against his will and stares into the glowing eyes of Demise's floating spirit and the possessed Ganondorf, his heart skipping many beats as he crawls forward, fulfilling the events of the nightmare to an almost meticulous degree…

Merely a few feet away from where he landed, Riku watches as the familiar sound of metal being picked up off the ground rings in his ears and Link stands before him, his body weakened but his spirit still as strong as it ever has been. He was lurching forward, the Master Sword barely gripped in his hands as he stares towards Demise and keeps a brave look in his weary eyes. The Hero of Time was ready to attack the Demon King again, the events of Riku's nightmare dictating that should he go through with it he would more than likely perish. The teenage Overlord tries to clamber to his feet, his innermost turmoil drowning out all other noises as Link swings his sword beside his body and turns his head to the right, a single smile filled with regrets forming across his face that causes Riku to pause mid-rise and his pupils to shrink in shock.

Link, in a tone that shows just how hard it is for him to hold back the tears welling up inside his eyes, says to his friend "I'm sorry…To you, to Zelda, to Navi…and to everyone who believed I could save Hyrule…Please Riku…Try and get Zelda to a safe location…" With his final words showing that even the Hero of Time himself, with all of his courage, had lost all hope of slaying the Demon King, Link turns back to face Demise, as a fear-struck Riku tries one final time to avert what fate has dictated to be the future of Hyrule, hoping that with a few words he can stop the nightmare from becoming a perfect reality…At the top of his lungs as Link charges forward, the teenage Overlord declares "DON'T DO IT LINK!"

His heartfelt plea lies against deaf ears, the rising flames blocking out all other sounds for the Hero of Time as he charges at Demise and leaps into the air, the Master Sword drawing on the last reserves of power buried within it and creating a translucent blue glow that breaks through the darkness for the first and final time, and with a roar of bravery Link descends upon the Demon King to strike him down with all his might…But as a inhumane smile crosses Demise's face, his sword swiftly rises into the air, the jagged blade piercing right through the Hylian's heart with such force that when the tip punctures the back blood flies out and splatters across Riku's face, paralyzing the teenage Overlord and causing him to fall on his knees only a few seconds later as he witnessed these events unfold.

As Link's move is left agape and his body shivers for a few seconds, Demise looks up at the Hero of Time as he is suspended in place by his sword, the Hylian's arms falling limp beside his body as the Master Sword falls against the ground, derived of all power with the death of its wielder while the Demon King says to the now dead Link _"You made me budge…But only so I could give you the death you deserve, Link. Once again you have earned my respect as a warrior…But no one will live to know what I have given to you…In the end Link, you will be just a statistic in what little history Hyrule will be allowed to have untouched by me and my demon brethren…" _With those final words to the Hero of Time, Demise swings his sword down, unceremoniously tossing Link away like he was nothing and leaving his own blade stained with the blood of this world's greatest hero…

Riku, with his body still kneeling on the ground, has become as lifeless as the fallen Hero of Time, the sheer trauma of all that has happened weighing heavily on his mind as guilt echoes in his mind in the form of "Its all my fault…I did this…I came to this world…Allowed Ganondorf to take my darkness…Demise came back to life because of my mistake…And now Link is dead…Link is dead…Link is dead…I am responsible for the death of a planet's hero…This is all my fault…" He ignores all other factors involved in the lead-up to Demise's revival, blaming only himself for what has occurred as the Demon King looks towards him with a malicious smile on his face, causing Riku to think to himself as he lowers his blank eyes down an inch "I'm…I'm going to die next…Aren't I?"

The back of Demise's right hand glows brighter, the insignia of the Triforce gaining a second component in the form of the Triforce of Courage, which the Demon King has earned by slaying Link in battle…Demise takes a moment to look at it, his ecstasy at the inevitability of the Triforce's completion distracting him from Riku's presence for but a moment. The teenage Overlord thinks to himself "I've doomed Hyrule to an apocalypse…I created this nightmare…I couldn't do anything to stop Demise's revival…I was always destined to bring ruin to this place…Fracture the history of this world…Its all my fault…Its all my fault…" The Demon King then looks down, picking up an object that had fallen on the ground from out of Link's tunic and looking at the teenage Overlord, and in a surprising move he tosses said object over to him.

Riku holds his hands out, his expression reverting to a more natural state as he looks down and sees a damage Ocarina of Time in his palms. The teenage Overlord suddenly remembers the last part of his nightmare that he never understood the meaning behind…And just as he does recall this part Demise points at the device and says to him _"Play it…" _Riku could not even fathom the Demon King's intentions, but the mere suggestion got the teenage Overlord thinking…There was still a way to avert disaster, though he'd have to work fast to get the job done. With his body twitching in panic, Riku moved the Ocarina of Time before his lips while thinking to himself with an overexcited amount of hope in his mind "If I play the Song of Time…I can travel back to a few hours ago when Link and I split up in Ganon's Castle and tell Link to avoid attacking Ganondorf…Demise will not awaken then…I can save Hyrule!"

As these hopes run rampant in his mind, Riku recalls the exact notes for the Song of Time and plays them, a peaceful melody ringing across the decrepit battlefield as the teenage Overlord closes his eyelids to focus deeply on the melody. After a few seconds, Riku's eyelids thrust open, and he is surprised to find that nothing has changed. Despite his desires resonating within the melody, he is still in the same position he was before, and he had no idea why. Panic set in once more as the teenage Overlord frantically plays the Song of Time again, followed up by desperation when he still hasn't been sent back in time…Riku repeatedly tries to get the Song of Time to work, the melody becoming less and less like its original self with each iteration…

In time, Demise lets out a bellowing, callous laugh that echoes across the sky and ingrains itself in the teenage Overlord's mind as he stops playing the Ocarina of Time and moves his hands away from it, causing it to fall to the ground without so much as a sound. The teenage Overlord immediately falls back into his state of trauma as Demise says to him _"Just as I suspected…You are not a Hylian…Only those blessed by the light of the Triforce can play the fabled Ocarina of Time…Which means that you are not from this world, child." _Drawing his sword forward across the front of his body diagonally as the hair in his spirit waves behind him, Demise starts to move towards the teenage Overlord, saying to him callously _"I do not care to know where you came from though…You are nothing more than another casualty…"_

Mere feet away from the horrified Riku, the Demon King readies his sword as his figure looms above the Elemental Overlord. With one cleave he would end the boy's life, caring little about his age as he performs this act of terrible murder. The sword comes down, but misses its target completely as Riku leaps out of the way and lands on the ground a few feet away. He didn't even intend to dodge the attack, his human desire to survive made the body act entirely on its own…But because of this, Demise is left with a different interpretation of the boy's actions. As he raises his body back up and stares at the child, he says to him in a mocking tone _"Surely you don't intend to fight me?" _The teenage Overlord, panting rapidly in fear, shifts his head back and forth, realizing that there was no way to run away from the Demon King due to the ring of fire surrounding him…But after a second of pause, Riku looks up towards the crimson sky…

In the Chamber of Sages, which is becoming distorted into a world of darkness thanks to the Demon King's slowly spreading influence, Rauru opens his eyelids wide and with a distraught expression he goes silent, the other sages looking at him before he says quietly "…In this most desperate of moments…The Elemental Overlord has abandoned us…" The other sages sink their heads, and in particular Saria seems to be the one most afflicted by this news…Though it is easy to suspect that the death of Link and Navi is the leading cause of her depression. Impa, the most composed of the six, quietly asks Rauru "…What do we do now?" The Sage of Light, hearing the sounds of the collapsing walls of this sacred chamber echoing around him, can only respond to the Sage of Shadows in a defeated tone "…I don't know…"

**Part 4 Story 1: The Ocarina of Time.**

**The End…?**


	31. Epilogue

**Epilogue: The Fall of Hyrule**

_It is said to this day that a streak of burning crimson light filled the skies of Hyrule as a means of heralding the revival of the Demon King, the populace forever unaware of the being who created that light as he fled the planet due to the trauma of all that had occurred…In the end, the Elemental Overlord's presence would be long forgotten, for those who caught a glimpse of him would eventually come to perish without acknowledging him in the history books…Assuming that anyone even lived to tell such tales to future generations…Demise was just one step away from completing the Triforce, and the Princess bearing the Triforce of Wisdom was just a mere distance away from the Demon King's body…_

_But in a last ditch attempt to rob Demise of a permanent victory, the Six Sages used their powers to take Zelda away to their collapsing realm, cutting the Demon King off from the Triforce of Wisdom for the time being…But this merely angered Demise, forcing him to rampage across Hyrule in order to force the Sages to return…He tore apart Kakariko village, forcing the villagers to retreat to the sister lands of Labrynna and Holodrum for their own safety…He destroyed the Lon Lon Ranch, killing Epona along with the caring, innocent residents simply because he could. He then went to Death Mountain, forcing the volcano to collapse upon itself and bury the Gorons under coursing lava and rock, exterminating the Hyrule tribe for good…Afterwards Demise found himself at Zora's Domain, but instead of murdering the Zoras he used his demonic magic to transform them into hideous beasts that would serve as part of his underwater army once they were thawed from the ice…Finally, Demise traveled to the peaceful Kokiri Village, obliterating the place with a single blast of magic and leaving not a single trace of the ageless children or their fairies in the area…_

_Meanwhile, the Sages and Zelda conspired to end Demise's reign of terror, as desperation eventually ignited a memory inside of Rauru's mind that would solve all of their problems. They would lure Demise to the Sacred Realm and give him the complete Triforce, using its wishing capabilities to purge Demise's consciousness from Ganondorf's body and ensuring that the King of Evil would be sealed inside the Sacred Realm forever, even if it meant giving him full possession of the Triforce in order to make this possible. But they had to be perfect in their timing, for one misstep would lead to Demise having full control of the world. _

_Back on the mortal plain, news of Demise's rampage spread to the sisters lands of Hyrule, the populaces being told that it was Ganondorf responsible for all the destruction because no mortal could see Demise's spirit looming behind the King of Evil. The Gerudos had already abandoned the three kingdoms, vanishing from the pages of history forever to avoid being caught by the rampaging King of Evil…Horrified by what was going on in Hyrule, the knights of Labrynna and Holodrum rallied together and charged the apocalyptic lands, taking the Demon King head on with all of their might in hopes of putting him down. However, Demise was unfazed, as with his magic he killed many soldiers and converted those that remained into monsters that took on the appearance of thieves and users of dark magic…_

_There was a reason for him creating an army, because not long after this battle the gateway to the Sacred Realm opened before him, and with this army Demise charged forth to take what was rightfully his. But there was still enough purity left in the Sacred Realm to undo the dark magic gripping the converted soldiers, and Demise was forced to kill the rest of them off before proceeding onward to where Princess Zelda was. With the help of the Sages, Zelda removed the Triforce of Wisdom from her body, giving it up to Demise so he can have the completed Triforce floating before him in all of its magnificent glory…A glory that he would only get to experience for a few moments as Zelda declared her wish with the vengeful desire to see Demise gone from this world._

_In seconds, a massive purifying light spreads across the Sacred Realm, purging Demise from Ganondorf's body and burning him until he is nothing. This left Ganondorf in his original body with the Triforce glowing on his right hand. Zelda began to flee from the Sacred Realm not long afterwards, the Sages preparing to seal the King of Evil away in the corrupted Sacred Realm as he begins to awaken. He only notices the Princess for a moment, but that is more than enough time for him to fire a sphere of dark magic in rage…An attack with enough deadly force behind it to make Zelda screaming in pain and almost fall to the blood-stained grounds of Hyrule Fields unconscious. Ganondorf curses the Sages and Zelda as the portal to the outside world is sealed, his rage transforming him permanently into the beast Ganon thanks to the Triforce…_

_Zelda was on the verge of death thanks to Ganondorf's attack, but instead of succumbing the Princess begged the Sages to let her perform one final act. Complying to this request, the Sages used what little magic they had left in order to allow Zelda to take the Master Sword away from the ruins of Ganondorf's Castle and bring it to the Lost Woods where Link grew up, where after wandering through the forest she planted the sword into the hexagon mark in front of the Forest Temple, and with a happy smile on her face she collapsed onto the ground, thus marking the end of her life. In turn, the Six Sages perished, because they no longer had the ability to survive thanks to the corruption of the Sacred Realm…This page of Hyrule's history was now finished, and time could pass on its own once more…_

_Eventually, people from Labrynna and Holodrum came to Hyrule along with those who had fled from Kakariko Village…Together, they began to rebuild the fallen kingdom from the ground up, using whatever resources they could in order to craft a new Kakariko Village in the center of the field while a new castle town was formed from the ruins. Eventually, a new hierarchy was established, and peace returned to Hyrule for a short time…For you see, the rampage of Demise alerted many greedy souls to the might of the Triforce, and a search for the so-called "Golden Land" led many to become lost in the mysterious "Dark World", a dark copy of Hyrule crafted by a late Ganon's desire to rule the world that was granted by the Triforce still grafted to his hand._

_Every warriors that went to the Dark World was transformed into a monster that became a part of Ganon's army, whose numbers grew day by day until the Evil King found himself capable of taking over the new Hyrule with ease…He launched an attack from the Dark World, his body unable to pass over into the mortal plain thanks to the Triforce, only for resistance to be met in the form of the Knight of Hyrule and the newly formed Seven Sages…Thanks to their magic, the Sages sealed off the entrance to the Dark World, stopping the invasion of the Evil King's army and securing peace for the Light World…Eventually though, Ganon would strike again, and when that time comes a new Zelda and Link shall be born to unknowingly carry on the legacy of their predecessors…_

_But this is all history that the Elemental Overlord will never come back to witness unfold, not only because of his trauma, but because the history that has occurred in Hyrule is detrimental to the "higher-ups" further goals…Thus, with their control over the multiverse, the "higher-ups" switch out this Hyrule with one from another universe, this one following a history where the Elemental Overlord succeeded in helping Link stop the King of Evil without Demise returning, and history went on as normal with the Hero of Time returning to his childhood while the land of Hyrule would eventually become flooded by Ganondorf's return…This would eventually become a world of the seas…A world waiting to be saved by the Hero of Winds…_

_To be continued in "Clash of the Elements: Desolate Corruption (Metroid)"…_


	32. Afterthoughts

**Author's Notes:**

Well, after a good couple of months the first story of Part 4 is done. I got to be honest, I was looking forward to writing Part 4 for the longest time, which explains a bit of my procrastination between the end of Part 3 and the start of Travels of an Overlord…Yes, I know I'm writing rather casually considering how I ended this story off, but I'll get into that later. As usual for one of my stories, its time to talk a little bit about what went down. Thankfully, since this story was an adaptation of Ocarina of Time I won't have to cover too much, so lets begin.

**Why Start off with the Adult Timeline?:**

Well besides the fact that the Adult Timeline wasn't created in this universe because of Riku's actions (Though I'll talk about that more later), I can't really start Riku off in the Child Timeline and have him get sealed away with Link because…Well, anyone who has read Movie 1 will recall that time flows differently for different planets compared to others. What would be 7 years in the Zelda world would be 1 year and about 3 months on the Earth Riku is from. And I can't have that big of a skip in time considering later stories and all. Not to mention Riku would have been successful in stopping Ganondorf from obtaining the Triforce had he appeared in the past, and clearly the best way to show off your new character is to have them solve all problems instantly and become the main hero in place of the true hero of Hyrule, Link…I may or may not be mocking My Inner Life when I say this.

**Ok, so why skip the Forest Temple?:**

This kind of relates to what I just brought up. Riku shouldn't be making Link look incompetent at all throughout the journey, and if Riku was around when Link goes through the first stretch of his journey as an adult then problems would occur. Its kind of a shame too. I like the Forest Temple.

**What's Up With Lon Lon Ranch being shown after Death Mountain?:**

As far as that goes I was trying to adapt the order of events the Manga of Ocarina of Time, which had Link obtain Epona after the Fire Temple, though that same Manga had Link fight Shadow Link in Kakariko Village and skipped the Shadow Temple so…Well, it was never meant to be an accurate adaptation of the order of events. And while we are on the subject of Lon Lon Ranch…

**Why do you favor Malon as Link's eventual love interest?:**

Well lets get the simple answers out of the way. Saria is forever young, Ruto and Nabooru are both Sages just like the aforementioned Saria, Zelda and Link are more connected by destiny than they are actual lovers…At least the Ocarina of Time versions are, and Impa is old. That just leaves Malon.

But there is actually a deeper reasoning behind choosing Malon besides process of elimination. A common theory going around these days ever since the Child Timeline was revealed is that after his adventures in Termina, Link returned to the Lon Lon Ranch with Epona and settled down as a ranch boy, helping Malon, Talon and Ingo out and eventually falling in love with Malon, thus explaining how later down the line the Hero of Twilight starts off as a farm boy with an Epona of his own. (Also, take into consideration that the Child Timeline is the only timeline where Epona makes any appearances, because it's the only timeline she survives in.) Naturally, this is just theorizing and there's not any confirmation, but I generally find myself agreeing with some of the points the theorists come up on this matter and decided to include a couple nods towards it…Even though in the end it didn't really matter because of the ending, but I'm getting to that.

**You Ruined Ganondorf by having him Possessed by Demise:**

No one has said anything yet, but I'm just being pre-emptive on the subject just in case. Yes, Demise did possess Ganondorf fully. Yes, Demise was the one who ended up killing Link and eventually led to the deterioration of the Sacred Realm along with the demise of the Six Sages, but lets look at some facts here. 1) Ganondorf was knocked unconscious by being defeated while he was Ganon. He didn't have the mental capability to fight back an invader when Link plunged the Master Sword into his head. 2) Ganondorf did most of the work before Demise took him over. In the end, Demise basically gave Ganondorf's body the second wind needed to finish the job. 3) Nobody who knew about Demise's revival is alive or in Hyrule anymore, so in the end history recorded Ganondorf as the instigator of the great calamity that fell over Hyrule. 4) Demise basically showed what Ganondorf COULD do with the Triforce of Power. If anything, doesn't this make the King of Evil more frightening knowing that he isn't tapping into the true potential of the Triforce every time you fight him…Or maybe he is and graphical limitations prevent us from seeing the true destructive might he is capable of unleashing. Either way…

**The Story of Demise's Inclusion:**

Believe it or not, but Part 4 has been planned for years. Like, even a couple of years before I started uploading Clash of the Elements to this site I had the idea for Part 4 rolling around inside of my head. A lot of elements, pardon the pun, have changed, but one of the major things that has stayed the same is that the Zelda world was going to take place during Ocarina of Time and that it would be the first story I'd write for Part 4 besides the prologue. However, a lot of aspects of the story have changed over time…Let me just go over a small list of the order of events and changes:

No Prologue A brief history of Hyrule's creation

Riku vs. Ganondorf

Riku meets up with Link Riku is saved by Link

Death Mountain

- Meeting Shiek Shiek knows of the Elemental Overlord

- Meeting Rauru Rauru knows of the Elemental Overlord

No Dream Dreams of Demise

Lon Lon Ranch

Frozen Zora's Domain

Ice Cavern

Water Temple Shadow Link being connected to the Shadow Temple; Morpha's aggression

Bongo Bongo's Assault Bongo Bongo Mentioning Demise

No Chapters Covering the Past Bottom of the Well

Shadow Temple

Gerudo's Fortress Solo Chapter for Link at Gerudo's Fortress

Spirit Temple (Past) Covering in a Flashback by Present Link Chapters for Link in the Past

Link Sees Saria in the Past No Meeting with Saria in the Past

Spirit Temple (Present)

- Twinrova Battle Twinrova survives

Zelda's Return Temple of Time destroyed Riku Confronts Rauru

Ganon's Tower

Ganondorf Battle

Ganon Battle

Ganondorf Empowered by Darkness and Rage Ganondorf Possessed by Demise

Link Lives Link Dies

Riku Survives Mentally Intact Riku Becomes Traumatized

Adult/Child Timeline Split Decline Timeline

So as you can see, a lot of things have changed over the years, but in general I kept to my original plans for the temples. Now just to cover a few more things and I can speak about the future…

**Huh? You planned for Link to see Saria in the past?:**

This particular change was actually a last minute thing. The original plan was for the past Spirit Temple to take two chapters, and at the very end of the second chapter Link would reflect on all that has happened throughout his journey and decides to go see Saria in order to show his appreciation for everything she did for him when he was young…I decided against this because I didn't feel I could do such a scene justice. But that's pretty much the only moment that was cut out.

**Why let Koume and Kotake live?:**

This actually will have to be answered with the next question…

**Why Bring Demise Back to Life?:**

Ok, this is going to be a bit of a long answer so sit back and prepare to read…

Just a year or so ago the Hyrule Historia was released, revealing to the general populace the truth about the Zelda timeline and how there were three timelines that split off from Ocarina of Time instead of the supposed two. The Child and Adult timelines were pretty easy to figure out how they came to be, since we played through the game and saw those get created through our own actions. However, now we learned of the mysterious "Decline Timeline", which was created by Link being defeated by Ganondorf…Huh. Yeah, that's pretty much all the information we got. Not how Ganondorf specifically defeated Link, not if Link failed to save a certain Sage, nothing like that. The circumstances leading up to the "Decline Timeline" are very mysterious, and have become the current major topic of speculation amongst Zelda fans ever since it was revealed.

Now I'm going to clarify right now that I won't claim that my explanation deserves to be canon in the slightest. Nintento is the only one who can choose to reveal the truth about the Decline Timeline, and I'm just another theorist. Who knows, maybe Demise did come back to life through Ganondorf through some other method not detailed in this fic, or perhaps Link did fail to kill Koume and Kotake so they ended up helping Ganondorf kill Link later on. All we can really do is speculate, but because of how interesting the subject of the Decline Timeline is I decided to incorporate that into my fic…

But surely there is more of a reason besides that, right? Actually yes, yes there is. You see, the Hyrule Historia came out only a year ago, which means I was thinking about the end game of the Ocarina of Time story long before then without Demise being shown or mentioned. In other words, Demise's inclusion was a very recent addition to the plot, and unknowingly by releasing the timeline Nintento shaped the very direction of the remainder of Part 4's plot. As you can see by the changes chart above, since Link was never meant to die before Riku was never meant to be traumatized. This very trauma that Riku has been inflicted with will be shaping his character for the remainder of Part 4, and in the end he will turn out to be a very different person than the happy-go-lucky Mew and the secretive, arrogant Alex Whiter. But obviously, I'm not going to go into any details on that matter…

**The Future:**

Now that Ocarina of Time is over with, my next course of action is to go back to the Tales of Plit story that has only 30 something views and update it for Luigi's story. That'll take about three chapters, but I'm going to be taking a week break before uploading anything because I now have a job and thus need to build up a bit of a surplus of chapters to make sure I keep my schedule flowing consistently on the off-chance procrastination sits in when I get back from work along with the fact that I want to be able to still have time for my video game backlog, since I can't play video games and write at the same time.

After Tales of Plit is updated, it will be time for the second story to begin. As you could see at the end of the Epilogue, the next story will revolve around the Metroid universe…A universe that has been under a lot of heat from fans lately thanks to Other M. But as the title of the arc would imply, I'm not covering that era of Metroid history. No, I'm actually going to be doing an original story for the Metroid world. But who will be the villain exactly? Well, I'm pretty certain the title of the arc makes it quit clear just who I will be using…Though that's all I'm going to say or vaguely hint at. You'll just have to wait and see in a couple of weeks when the first chapter of "Desolate Corruption" is uploaded on the Metroid section of this site. For now though, have a fantastic day, and please review.


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